Systems and methods for managing mobility in a network of moving things

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for managing mobility in a network of moving things. As non-limiting examples, various aspects of this disclosure provide systems and methods for managing mobility in a network in which at least a portion of the network access points are moving.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS/INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

This patent application makes reference to, claims priority to, andclaims benefit from U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,098,titled “Systems and Methods for Managing Mobility in a Network of MovingThings,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety. The present application is also related toU.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/222,192, titled“Communication Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015; U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/221,997, titled “IntegratedCommunication Network for a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22,2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,016, titled “Systemsand Methods for Synchronizing a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep.22, 2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,042, titled“Systems and Methods for Managing a Network of Moving Things,” filed onSep. 22, 2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,066, titled“Systems and Methods for Monitoring a Network of Moving Things,” filedon Sep. 22, 2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,077,titled “Systems and Methods for Detecting and Classifying Anomalies in aNetwork of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015; U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/222,098, titled “Systems and Methods forManaging Mobility in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22,2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,121, titled “Systemsand Methods for Managing Connectivity a Network of Moving Things,” filedon Sep. 22, 2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,135,titled “Systems and Methods for Collecting Sensor Data in a Network ofMoving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015; U.S. Provisional ApplicationSer. No. 62/222,145, titled “Systems and Methods for Interfacing with aNetwork of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015; U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/222,150, titled “Systems and Methods forInterfacing with a User of a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep.22, 2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,168, titled“Systems and Methods for Data Storage and Processing for a Network ofMoving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015; U.S. Provisional ApplicationSer. No. 62/222,183, titled “Systems and Methods for Vehicle TrafficManagement in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015; U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,186, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Environmental Management in a Network of Moving Things,” filed onSep. 22, 2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,190, titled“Systems and Methods for Port Management in a Network of Moving Things,”filed on Sep. 22, 2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/244,828, titled “Utilizing Historical Data to Correct GPS Data in aNetwork of Moving Things,” filed on Oct. 22, 2015; U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/244,930, titled “Using Anchors to Correct GPSData in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Oct. 22, 2015; U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/246,368, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Inter-Application Communication in a Network of Moving Things,”filed on Oct. 26, 2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/246,372, titled “Systems and Methods for Probing and ValidatingCommunication in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Oct. 26, 2015;U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/250,544, titled “Adaptive RateControl for Vehicular Networks,” filed on Nov. 4, 2015; U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/273,878, titled “Systems and Methods forReconfiguring and Adapting Hardware in a Network of Moving Things,”filed on Dec. 31, 2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/253,249, titled “Systems and Methods for Optimizing Data Gathering ina Network of Moving Things,” filed on Nov. 10, 2015; U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/257,421, titled “Systems and Methods for DelayTolerant Networking in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Nov. 19,2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/265,267, titled “Systemsand Methods for Improving Coverage and Throughput of Mobile AccessPoints in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Dec. 9, 2015; U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/270,858, titled “ChannelCoordination in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Dec. 22, 2015;U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/257,854, titled “Systems andMethods for Network Coded Mesh Networking in a Network of MovingThings,” filed on Nov. 20, 2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/260,749, titled “Systems and Methods for Improving Fixed Access PointCoverage in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Nov. 30, 2015; U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/273,715, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Managing Mobility Controllers and Their Network Interactions in aNetwork of Moving Things,” filed on Dec. 31, 2015; U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/281,432, titled “Systems and Methods forManaging and Triggering Handovers of Mobile Access Points in a Networkof Moving Things,” filed on Jan. 21, 2016; U.S. Provisional ApplicationSer. No. 62/268,188, titled “Captive Portal-related Control andManagement in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Dec. 16, 2015; U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/270,678, titled “Systems and Methodsto Extrapolate High-Value Data from a Network of Moving Things,” filedon Dec. 22, 2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/272,750,titled “Systems and Methods for Remote Software Update and Distributionin a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Dec. 30, 2015; U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/278,662, titled “Systems and Methods for RemoteConfiguration Update and Distribution in a Network of Moving Things,”filed on Jan. 14, 2016; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/286,243, titled “Systems and Methods for Adapting a Network of MovingThings Based on User Feedback,” filed on Jan. 22, 2016; U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/278,764, titled “Systems and Methods toGuarantee Data Integrity When Building Data Analytics in a Network ofMoving Things,” Jan. 14, 2016; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/286,515, titled “Systems and Methods for Self-Initialization andAutomated Bootstrapping of Mobile Access Points in a Network of MovingThings,” filed on Jan. 25, 2016; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/295,602, titled “Systems and Methods for Power Management in aNetwork of Moving Things,” filed on Feb. 16, 2016; and U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/299,269, titled “Systems and Methods forAutomating and Easing the Installation and Setup of the InfrastructureSupporting a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Feb. 24, 2016; each ofwhich is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for allpurposes.

BACKGROUND

Current communication networks are unable to adequately supportcommunication environments involving moving networks. As a non-limitingexample, current communication networks are unable to adequately managemobility in a network comprising a complex array of both moving andstatic nodes (e.g., the Internet of moving things). Limitations anddisadvantages of conventional methods and systems will become apparentto one of skill in the art, through comparison of such approaches withsome aspects of the present methods and systems set forth in theremainder of this disclosure with reference to the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a communication network, in accordancewith various aspects of this disclosure.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a communication network, in accordancewith various aspects of this disclosure.

FIG. 3 shows a diagram of a metropolitan area network, in accordancewith various aspects of this disclosure.

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of a communication network, in accordancewith various aspects of this disclosure.

FIGS. 5A-5C show a plurality of network configurations illustrating theflexibility and/or and resiliency of a communication network, inaccordance with various aspects of this disclosure.

FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of an example communication network, inaccordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 shows a block diagram of an example communication network, inaccordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 shows a block diagram of an example communication network, inaccordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 shows a block diagram of an example communication network, inaccordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 shows a block diagram of an example communication network, inaccordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 shows a block diagram of an example communication network, inaccordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 12 shows a block diagram of an example mobile access point, inaccordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 13 shows a block diagram of an example mobility controller inaccordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

SUMMARY

Various aspects of this disclosure provide systems and methods formanaging mobility in a network of moving things. As non-limitingexamples, various aspects of this disclosure provide systems and methodsfor managing mobility in a network in which at least a portion of thenetwork access points are moving.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS ASPECTS OF THE DISCLOSURE

As utilized herein the terms “circuits” and “circuitry” refer tophysical electronic components (i.e., hardware) and any software and/orfirmware (“code”) that may configure the hardware, be executed by thehardware, and or otherwise be associated with the hardware. As usedherein, for example, a particular processor and memory (e.g., a volatileor non-volatile memory device, a general computer-readable medium, etc.)may comprise a first “circuit” when executing a first one or more linesof code and may comprise a second “circuit” when executing a second oneor more lines of code. Additionally, a circuit may comprise analogand/or digital circuitry. Such circuitry may, for example, operate onanalog and/or digital signals. It should be understood that a circuitmay be in a single device or chip, on a single motherboard, in a singlechassis, in a plurality of enclosures at a single geographical location,in a plurality of enclosures distributed over a plurality ofgeographical locations, etc.

As utilized herein, circuitry is “operable” to perform a functionwhenever the circuitry comprises the necessary hardware and code (if anyis necessary) to perform the function, regardless of whether performanceof the function is disabled, or not enabled (e.g., by auser-configurable setting, factory setting or trim, etc.).

As utilized herein, “and/or” means any one or more of the items in thelist joined by “and/or”. As an example, “x and/or y” means any elementof the three-element set {(x), (y), (x, y)}. That is, “x and/or y” means“one or both of x and y.” As another example, “x, y, and/or z” means anyelement of the seven-element set {(x), (y), (z), (x, y), (x, z), (y, z),(x, y, z)}. That is, “x, y, and/or x” means “one or more of x, y, andz.” As utilized herein, the terms “e.g.,” and “for example” set offlists of one or more non-limiting examples, instances, or illustrations.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularexamples only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. Asused herein, the singular forms are intended to include the plural formsas well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will befurther understood that the terms “comprises,” “includes,” “comprising,”“including,” “has,” “have,” “having,” and the like when used in thisspecification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps,operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude thepresence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps,operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. maybe used herein to describe various elements, these elements should notbe limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish oneelement from another element. Thus, for example, a first element, afirst component or a first section discussed below could be termed asecond element, a second component or a second section without departingfrom the teachings of the present disclosure. Similarly, various spatialterms, such as “upper,” “lower,” “side,” and the like, may be used indistinguishing one element from another element in a relative manner. Itshould be understood, however, that components may be oriented indifferent manners, for example an electronic device may be turnedsideways so that its “top” surface is facing horizontally and its “side”surface is facing vertically, without departing from the teachings ofthe present disclosure.

With the proliferation of the mobile and/or static things (e.g.,devices, machines, people, etc.) and logistics for such things to becomeconnected to each other (e.g., in the contexts of smart logistics,transportation, environmental sensing, etc.), a platform that is forexample always-on, robust, scalable and secure that is capable ofproviding connectivity, services and Internet access to such things (orobjects), anywhere and anytime is desirable. Efficient power utilizationwithin the various components of such system is also desirable.

Accordingly, various aspects of the present disclosure provide afully-operable, always-on, responsive, robust, scalable, secureplatform/system/architecture to provide connectivity, services andInternet access to all mobile things and/or static things (e.g.,devices, machines, people, access points, end user devices, sensors,etc.) anywhere and anytime, while operating in an energy-efficientmanner.

Various aspects of the present disclosure provide a platform that isflexibly configurable and adaptable to the various requirements,features, and needs of different environments, where each environmentmay be characterized by a respective level of mobility and density ofmobile and/or static things, and the number and/or types of access tothose things. Characteristics of various environments may, for example,include high mobility of nodes (e.g., causing contacts or connections tobe volatile), high number of neighbors, high number of connected mobileusers, mobile access points, availability of multiple networks andtechnologies (e.g., sometimes within a same area), etc. For example, themode of operation of the platform may be flexibly adapted fromenvironment to environment, based on each environment's respectiverequirements and needs, which may be different from other environments.Additionally for example, the platform may be flexibly optimized (e.g.,at design/installation time and/or in real-time) for different purposes(e.g., to reduce the latency, increase throughput, reduce powerconsumption, load balance, increase reliability, make more robust withregard to failures or other disturbances, etc.), for example based onthe content, service or data that the platform provides or handleswithin a particular environment.

In accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure, manycontrol and management services (e.g., mobility, security, routing,etc.) are provided on top of the platform (e.g., directly, using controloverlays, using containers, etc.), such services being compatible withthe services currently deployed on top of the Internet or othercommunication network(s).

The communication network (or platform), in whole or in part, may forexample be operated in public and/or private modes of operation, forexample depending on the use case. The platform may, for example,operate in a public or private mode of operation, depending on theuse-case (e.g., public Internet access, municipal environment sensing,fleet operation, etc.).

Additionally for example, in an implementation in which various networkcomponents are mobile, the transportation and/or signal controlmechanisms may be adapted to serve the needs of the particularimplementation. Also for example, wireless transmission power and/orrate may be adapted (e.g., to mitigate interference, to reduce powerconsumption, to extend the life of network components, etc.

Various example implementations of a platform, in accordance withvarious aspects of the present disclosure, are capable of connectingdifferent subsystems, even when various other subsystems that maynormally be utilized are unavailable. For example, the platform maycomprise various built-in redundancies and fail-recovery mechanisms. Forexample, the platform may comprise a self-healing capability,self-configuration capability, self-adaptation capability, etc. Theprotocols and functions of the platform may, for example, be prepared tobe autonomously and smoothly configured and adapted to the requirementsand features of different environments characterized by different levelsof mobility and density of things (or objects), the number/types ofaccess to those things. For example, various aspects of the platform maygather context parameters that can influence any or all decisions. Suchparameters may, for example, be derived locally, gathered from aneighborhood, Fixed APs, the Cloud, etc. Various aspects of the platformmay also, for example, ask for historical information to feed any of thedecisions, where such information can be derived from historical data,from surveys, from simulators, etc. Various aspects of the platform mayadditionally, for example, probe or monitor decisions made throughoutthe network, for example to evaluate the network and/or the decisionsthemselves in real-time. Various aspects of the platform may further,for example, enforce the decisions in the network (e.g., afterevaluating the probing results). Various aspects of the platform may,for example, establish thresholds to avoid any decision that is to beconstantly or repeatedly performed without any significant advantage(e.g., technology change, certificate change, IP change, etc.). Variousaspects of the platform may also, for example, learn locally (e.g., withthe decisions performed) and dynamically update the decisions.

In addition to (or instead of) failure robustness, a platform mayutilize multiple connections (or pathways) that exist between distinctsub-systems or elements within the same sub-system, to increase therobustness and/or load-balancing of the system.

The following discussion will present examples of the functionalityperformed by various example subsystems of the communication network. Itshould be understood that the example functionality discussed hereinneed not be performed by the particular example subsystem or by a singlesubsystem. For example, the subsystems present herein may interact witheach other, and data or control services may be deployed either in acentralized way, or having their functionalities distributed among thedifferent subsystems, for example leveraging the cooperation between theelements of each subsystem.

Various aspects of the present disclosure provide a communicationnetwork (e.g., a city-wide vehicular network, a shipping port-sizedvehicular network, a campus-wide vehicular network, etc.) that utilizesvehicles (e.g., automobiles, buses, trucks, boats, forklifts, etc.) asWi-Fi hotspots. Note that Wi-Fi is generally used throughout thisdiscussion as an example, but the scope of various aspects of thisdisclosure is not limited thereto. For example, other wireless LANtechnologies, PAN technologies, MAN technologies, etc., may be utilized.Such utilization may, for example, provide cost-effective ways to gathersubstantial amounts of urban data, and provide for the efficientoffloading of traffic from congested cellular networks (or othernetworks). In controlled areas (e.g., ports, harbors, etc.) with manyvehicles, a communication network in accordance with various aspects ofthis disclosure may expand the wireless coverage of existing enterpriseWi-Fi networks, for example providing for real-time communication withvehicle drivers (e.g., human, computer-controlled, etc.) and othermobile employees without the need for SIM cards or cellular (or othernetwork) data plans.

Vehicles may have many advantageous characteristics that make themuseful as Wi-Fi (or general wireless) hotspots. For example, vehiclesgenerally have at least one battery, vehicles are generally denselyspread over the city at street level and/or they are able to establishmany contacts with each other in a controlled space, and vehicles cancommunicate with 10x the range of normal Wi-Fi in the 5.9 GHz frequencyband, reserved for intelligent transportation systems in the EU, theU.S., and elsewhere. Note that the scope of this disclosure is notlimited to such 5.9 GHz wireless communication. Further, vehicles areable to effectively expand their coverage area into a swath over aperiod of time, enabling a single vehicle access point to interact withsubstantially more data sources over the period of time.

In accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure, anaffordable multi-network on-board unit (OBU) is presented. Note that theOBU may also be referred to herein as a mobile access point, Mobile AP,MAP, etc. The OBU may, for example, comprise a plurality of networkinginterfaces (e.g., Wi-Fi, 802.11p, 4G, Bluetooth, UWB, etc.). The OBUmay, for example, be readily installed in or on private and/or publicvehicles (e.g., individual user vehicles, vehicles of private fleets,vehicles of public fleets, etc.). The OBU may, for example, be installedin transportation fleets, waste management fleets, law enforcementfleets, emergency services, road maintenance fleets, taxi fleets,aircraft fleets, etc. The OBU may, for example, be installed in or on avehicle or other structure with free mobility or relatively limitedmobility. The OBU may also, for example, be carried by a person orservice animal, mounted to a bicycle, mounted to a moving machine ingeneral, mounted to a container, etc.

The OBUs may, for example, operate to connect passing vehicles to thewired infrastructure of one or more network providers, telecomoperators, etc. In accordance with the architecture, hardware, andsoftware functionality discussed herein, vehicles and fleets can beconnected not just to the cellular networks (or other wide area ormetropolitan area networks, etc.) and existing Wi-Fi hotspots spreadover a city or a controlled space, but also to other vehicles (e.g.,utilizing multi-hop communications to a wired infrastructure, single ormulti-hop peer-to-peer vehicle communication, etc.). The vehicles and/orfleets may, for example, form an overall mesh of communication links,for example including the OBUs and also fixed Access Points (APs)connected to the wired infrastructure (e.g., a local infrastructure,etc.). Note that OBUs herein may also be referred to as “Mobile APs,”“mobile hotspots,” “MAPs,” etc. Also note that fixed access points mayalso be referred to herein as Road Side Units (RSUs), Fixed APs, FAPs,etc.

In an example implementation, the OBUs may communicate with the FixedAPs utilizing a relatively long-range protocol (e.g., 802.11p, etc.),and the Fixed APs may, in turn, be hard wired to the wiredinfrastructure (e.g., via cable, tethered optical link, etc.). Note thatFixed APs may also, or alternatively, be coupled to the infrastructurevia wireless link (e.g., 802.11p, etc.). Additionally, clients or userdevices may communicate with the OBUs using one or more relativelyshort-range protocols (e.g., Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, UWB, etc.). The OBUs, forexample having a longer effective wireless communication range thantypical Wi-Fi access points or other wireless LAN/PAN access points(e.g., at least for links such as those based on 802.11p, etc.), arecapable of substantially greater coverage areas than typical Wi-Fi orother wireless LAN/PAN access points, and thus fewer OBUs are necessaryto provide blanket coverage over a geographical area.

The OBU may, for example, comprise a robust vehicular networking module(e.g., a connection manager) which builds on long-range communicationprotocol capability (e.g., 802.11p, etc.). For example, in addition tocomprising 802.11p (or other long-range protocol) capability tocommunicate with Fixed APs, vehicles, and other nodes in the network,the OBU may comprise a network interface (e.g., 802.11a/b/g/n, 802.11ac,802.11af, any combination thereof, etc.) to provide wireless local areanetwork (WLAN) connectivity to end user devices, sensors, fixed Wi-Fiaccess points, etc. For example, the OBU may operate to providein-vehicle Wi-Fi Internet access to users in and/or around the vehicle(e.g., a bus, train car, taxi cab, public works vehicle, etc.). The OBUmay further comprise one or more wireless backbone communicationinterfaces (e.g., cellular network interfaces, etc.). Though in variousexample scenarios, a cellular network interface (or other wirelessbackbone communication interface) might not be the preferred interfacefor various reasons (e.g., cost, power, bandwidth, etc.), the cellularnetwork interface may be utilized to provide connectivity ingeographical areas that are not presently supported by a Fixed AP, maybe utilized to provide a fail-over communication link, may be utilizedfor emergency communications, may be utilized to subscribe to localinfrastructure access, etc. The cellular network interface may also, forexample, be utilized to allow the deployment of solutions that aredependent on the cellular network operators.

An OBU, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure,may for example comprise a smart connection manager that can select thebest available wireless link(s) (e.g., Wi-Fi, 802.11p, cellular, vehiclemesh, etc.) with which to access the Internet. The OBU may also, forexample, provide geo-location capabilities (e.g., GPS, etc.), motiondetection sensors to determine if the vehicle is in motion, and a powercontrol subsystem (e.g., to ensure that the OBU does not deplete thevehicle battery, etc.). The OBU may, for example, comprise any or all ofthe sensors (e.g., environmental sensors, etc.) discussed herein.

The OBU may also, for example, comprise a manager that managesmachine-to-machine data acquisition and transfer (e.g., in a real-timeor delay-tolerant fashion) to and from the Cloud. For example, the OBUmay log and/or communicate information of the vehicles.

The OBU may, for example, comprise a connection and/or routing managerthat operates to perform routing of communications in avehicle-to-vehicle/vehicle-to-infrastructure multi-hop communication. Amobility manager (or controller, MC) may, for example, ensure thatcommunication sessions persist over one or more handoff(s) (alsoreferred to herein as a “handover” or “handovers”) (e.g., betweendifferent Mobile APs, Fixed APs, base stations, hot spots, etc.), amongdifferent technologies (e.g., 802.11p, cellular, Wi-Fi, satellite,etc.), among different MCs (e.g., in a fail-over scenario, loadredistribution scenario, etc.), across different interfaces (or ports),etc. Note that the MC may also be referred to herein as a Local MobilityAnchor (LMA), a Network Controller (NC), etc. Note that the MC, or aplurality thereof, may for example be implemented as part of thebackbone, but may also, or alternatively, be implemented as part of anyof a variety of components or combinations thereof. For example, the MCmay be implemented in a Fixed AP (or distributed system thereof), aspart of an OBU (or a distributed system thereof), etc. Variousnon-limiting examples of system components and/or methods are providedin U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/222,098, filed Sep. 22, 2015, andtitled “Systems and Method for Managing Mobility in a Network of MovingThings,” the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated herein byreference. Note that in an example implementation including a pluralityof MCs, such MCs may be co-located and/or may be geographicallydistributed.

Various aspects of the present disclosure also provide a Cloud-basedservice-oriented architecture that handles the real-time management,monitoring and reporting of the network and clients, the functionalitiesrequired for data storage, processing and management, the Wi-Fi clientauthentication and Captive Portal display, etc.

A communication network (or component thereof) in accordance withvarious aspects of the present disclosure may, for example, support awide range of smart city applications (or controlled scenarios, orconnected scenarios, etc.) and/or use-cases, as described herein.

For example, an example implementation may operate to turn each vehicle(e.g., both public and private taxis, buses, trucks, etc.) into a MobileAP (e.g., a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot), offering Internet access toemployees, passengers and mobile users travelling in the city, waitingin bus stops, sitting in parks, etc. Moreover, through an examplevehicular mesh network formed between vehicles and/or fleets ofvehicles, an implementation may be operable to offload cellular trafficthrough the mobile Wi-Fi hotspots and/or Fixed APs (e.g., 802.11p-basedAPs) spread over the city and connected to the wired infrastructure ofpublic or private telecom operators in strategic places, while ensuringthe widest possible coverage at the lowest possible cost.

An example implementation (e.g., of a communication network and/orcomponents thereof) may, for example, be operable as a massive urbanscanner that gathers large amounts of data (e.g., continuously)on-the-move, actionable or not, generated by a myriad of sourcesspanning from the in-vehicle sensors or On Board Diagnostic System port(e.g., OBD2, etc.), external Wi-Fi/Bluetooth-enabled sensing unitsspread over the city, devices of vehicles' drivers and passengers (e.g.,information characterizing such devices and/or passengers, etc.),positioning system devices (e.g., position information, velocityinformation, trajectory information, travel history information, etc.),etc.

Depending on the use case, the OBU may for example process (or computer,transform, manipulate, aggregate, summarize, etc.) the data beforesending the data from the vehicle, for example providing the appropriategranularity (e.g., value resolution) and sampling rates (e.g., temporalresolution) for each individual application. For example, the OBU may,for example, process the data in any manner deemed advantageous by thesystem. The OBU may, for example, send the collected data (e.g., rawdata, preprocessed data, information of metrics calculated based on thecollected data, etc.) to the Cloud (e.g., to one or more networkedservers coupled to any portion of the network) in an efficient andreliable manner to improve the efficiency, environmental impact andsocial value of municipal city operations and transportation services.Various example use cases are described herein.

In an example scenario in which public buses are moving along cityroutes and/or taxis are performing their private transportationservices, the OBU is able to collect large quantities of real-time datafrom the positioning systems (e.g., GPS, etc.), from accelerometermodules, etc. The OBU may then, for example, communicate such data tothe Cloud, where the data may be processed, reported and viewed, forexample to support such public or private bus and/or taxi operations,for example supporting efficient remote monitoring and scheduling ofbuses and taxis, respectively.

In an example implementation, small cameras (or other sensors) may becoupled to small single-board computers (SBCs) that are placed above thedoors of public buses to allow capturing image sequences of peopleentering and leaving buses, and/or on stops along the bus routes inorder to estimate the number of people waiting for a bus. Such data maybe gathered by the OBU in order to be sent to the Cloud. With such data,public transportation systems may detect peaks; overcrowded buses,routes and stops; underutilized buses, routes and stops; etc., enablingaction to be taken in real-time (e.g., reducing bus periodicity todecrease fuel costs and CO₂ emissions where and when passenger flows aresmaller, etc.) as well as detecting systematic transportation problems.

An OBU may, for example, be operable to communicate with any of avariety of Wi-Fi-enabled sensor devices equipped with a heterogeneouscollection of environmental sensors. Such sensors may, for example,comprise noise sensors (microphones, etc.), gas sensors (e.g., sensingCO, NO₂, O₃, volatile organic compounds (or VOCs), CO₂, etc.), smokesensors, pollution sensors, meteorological sensors (e.g., sensingtemperature, humidity, luminosity, particles, solar radiation, windspeed (e.g., anemometer), wind direction, rain (e.g., a pluviometer),optical scanners, biometric scanners, cameras, microphones, etc.). Suchsensors may also comprise sensors associated with users (e.g., vehicleoperators or passengers, passersby, etc.) and/or their personal devices(e.g., smart phones or watches, biometrics sensors, wearable sensors,implanted sensors, etc.). Such sensors may, for example, comprisesensors and/or systems associated with on-board diagnostic (OBD) unitsfor vehicles. Such sensors may, for example, comprise positioningsensors (e.g., GPS sensors, Galileo sensors, GLONASS sensors, etc.).Such sensors may, for example, comprise container sensors (e.g., garbagecan sensors, shipping container sensors, container environmentalsensors, container tracking sensors, etc.).

Once a vehicle enters the vicinity of such a sensor device, a wirelesslink may be established, so that the vehicle (or OBU thereof) cancollect sensor data from the sensor device and upload the collected datato a database in the Cloud. The appropriate action can then be taken. Inan example waste management implementation, several waste management (orcollection) trucks may be equipped with OBUs that are able toperiodically communicate with sensors installed on containers in orderto gather information about waste level, time passed since lastcollection, etc. Such information may then sent to the Cloud (e.g., to awaste management application coupled to the Internet, etc.) through thevehicular mesh network, in order to improve the scheduling and/orrouting of waste management trucks. Note that various sensors may alwaysbe in range of the Mobile AP (e.g., vehicle-mounted sensors). Note thatthe sensor may also (or alternatively) be mobile (e.g., a sensor mountedto another vehicle passing by a Mobile AP or Fixed AP, a drone-mountedsensor, a pedestrian-mounted sensor, etc.).

In an example implementation, for example in a controlled space (e.g., aport, harbor, airport, factory, plantation, mine, etc.) with manyvehicles, machines and employees, a communication network in accordancewith various aspects of the present disclosure may expand the wirelesscoverage of enterprise and/or local Wi-Fi networks, for example withoutresorting to a Telco-dependent solution based on SIM cards or cellularfees. In such an example scenario, apart from avoiding expensivecellular data plans, limited data rate and poor cellular coverage insome places, a communication network in accordance with various aspectsof the present disclosure is also able to collect and/or communicatelarge amounts of data, in a reliable and real-time manner, where suchdata may be used to optimize harbor logistics, transportationoperations, etc.

For example in a port and/or harbor implementation, by gatheringreal-time information on the position, speed, fuel consumption and CO₂emissions of the vehicles, the communication network allows a portoperator to improve the coordination of the ship loading processes andincrease the throughput of the harbor. Also for example, thecommunication network enables remote monitoring of drivers' behaviors,trucks' positions and engines' status, and then be able to providereal-time notifications to drivers (e.g., to turn on/off the engine,follow the right route inside the harbor, take a break, etc.), thusreducing the number and duration of the harbor services and trips.Harbor authorities may, for example, quickly detect malfunctioningtrucks and abnormal trucks' circulation, thus avoiding accidents inorder to increase harbor efficiency, security, and safety. Additionally,the vehicles can also connect to Wi-Fi access points from harbor localoperators, and provide Wi-Fi Internet access to vehicles' occupants andsurrounding harbor employees, for example allowing pilots to save timeby filing reports via the Internet while still on the water.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a communication network 100, inaccordance with various aspects of this disclosure. Any or all of thefunctionality discussed herein may be performed by any or all of theexample components of the example network 100. Also, the example network100 may, for example, share any or all characteristics with the otherexample networks and/or network components 200, 300, 400, 500-570, 600,700, 800, 900, 1000, 1100, 1200, and 1300 discussed herein.

The example network 100, for example, comprises a Cloud that may, forexample comprise any of a variety of network level components. The Cloudmay, for example, comprise any of a variety of server systems executingapplications that monitor and/or control components of the network 100.Such applications may also, for example, manage the collection ofinformation from any of a large array of networked information sources,many examples of which are discussed herein. The Cloud (or a portionthereof) may also be referred to, at times, as an API. For example,Cloud (or a portion thereof) may provide one or more applicationprogramming interfaces (APIs) which other devices may use forcommunicating/interacting with the Cloud.

An example component of the Cloud may, for example, manageinteroperability with various multi-Cloud systems and architectures.Another example component (e.g., a Cloud service component) may, forexample, provide various Cloud services (e.g., captive portal services,authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) services, APIGateway services, etc.). An additional example component (e.g., aDevCenter component) may, for example, provide network monitoring and/ormanagement functionality, manage the implementation of software updates,etc. A further example component of the Cloud may manage data storage,data analytics, data access, etc. A still further example component ofthe Cloud may include any of a variety of third-partly applications andservices.

The Cloud may, for example, be coupled to the Backbone/CoreInfrastructure of the example network 100 via the Internet (e.g.,utilizing one or more Internet Service Providers). Though the Internetis provided by example, it should be understood that scope of thepresent disclosure is not limited thereto.

The Backbone/Core may, for example, comprise any one or more differentcommunication infrastructure components. For example, one or moreproviders may provide backbone networks or various components thereof.As shown in the example network 100 illustrated in FIG. 1, a Backboneprovider may provide wireline access (e.g., PSTN, fiber, cable, etc.).Also for example, a Backbone provider may provide wireless access (e.g.,Microwave, LTE/Cellular, 5G/TV Spectrum, etc.).

The Backbone/Core may also, for example, comprise one or more LocalInfrastructure Providers. The Backbone/Core may also, for example,comprise a private infrastructure (e.g., run by the network 100implementer, owner, etc.). The Backbone/Core may, for example, provideany of a variety of Backbone Services (e.g., AAA, Mobility, Monitoring,Addressing, Routing, Content services, Gateway Control services, etc.).

The Backbone/Core Infrastructure may comprise any of a variety ofcharacteristics, non-limiting examples of which are provided herein. Forexample, the Backbone/Core may be compatible with different wireless orwired technologies for backbone access. The Backbone/Core may also beadaptable to handle public (e.g., municipal, city, campus, etc.) and/orprivate (e.g., ports, campus, etc.) network infrastructures owned bydifferent local providers, and/or owned by the network implementer orstakeholder. The Backbone/Core may, for example, comprise and/orinterface with different Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting(AAA) mechanisms.

The Backbone/Core Infrastructure may, for example, support differentmodes of operation (e.g., L2 in port implementations, L3 in on-landpublic transportation implementations, utilizing any one or more of aplurality of different layers of digital IP networking, any combinationsthereof, equivalents thereof, etc.) or addressing pools. TheBackbone/Core may also for example, be agnostic to the Cloud provider(s)and/or Internet Service Provider(s). Additionally for example, theBackbone/Core may be agnostic to requests coming from any or allsubsystems of the network 100 (e.g., Mobile APs or OBUs (On BoardUnits), Fixed APs or RSUs (Road Side Units), MCs (Mobility Controllers)or LMAs (Local Mobility Anchors) or Network Controllers, etc.) and/orthird-party systems.

The Backbone/Core Infrastructure may, for example, comprise the abilityto utilize and/or interface with different data storage/processingsystems (e.g., MongoDB, MySql, Redis, etc.). The Backbone/CoreInfrastructure may further, for example, provide different levels ofsimultaneous access to the infrastructure, services, data, etc.

The example network 100 may also, for example, comprise a Fixed HotspotAccess Network. Various example characteristics of such a Fixed HotspotAccess Network 200 are shown at FIG. 2. The example network 200 may, forexample, share any or all characteristics with the other examplenetworks and/or network components 100, 300, 400, 500-570, 600, 700,800, 900, 1000, 1100, 1200, and 1300, discussed herein.

In the example network 200, the Fixed APs (e.g., the proprietary APs,the public third party APs, the private third party APs, etc.) may bedirectly connected to the local infrastructure provider and/or to thewireline/wireless backbone. Also for example, the example network 200may comprise a mesh between the various APs via wireless technologies.Note, however, that various wired technologies may also be utilizeddepending on the implementation. As shown, different fixed hotspotaccess networks can be connected to a same backbone provider, but mayalso be connected to different respective backbone providers. In anexample implementation utilizing wireless technology for backboneaccess, such an implementation may be relatively fault tolerant. Forexample, a Fixed AP may utilize wireless communications to the backbonenetwork (e.g., cellular, 3G, LTE, other wide or metropolitan areanetworks, etc.) if the backhaul infrastructure is down. Also forexample, such an implementation may provide for relatively easyinstallation (e.g., a Fixed AP with no cable power source that can beplaced virtually anywhere).

In the example network 200, the same Fixed AP can simultaneously provideaccess to multiple Fixed APs, Mobile APs (e.g., vehicle OBUs, etc.),devices, user devices, sensors, things, etc. For example, a plurality ofmobile hotspot access networks (e.g., OBU-based networks, etc.) mayutilize the same Fixed AP. Also for example, the same Fixed AP canprovide a plurality of simultaneous accesses to another single unit(e.g., another Fixed AP, Mobile AP, device, etc.), for example utilizingdifferent channels, different radios, etc.).

Note that a plurality of Fixed APs may be utilized forfault-tolerance/fail-recovery purposes. In an example implementation, aFixed AP and its fail-over AP may both be normally operational (e.g., ina same switch). Also for example, one or more Fixed APs may be placed inthe network at various locations in an inactive or monitoring mode, andready to become operational when needed (e.g., in response to a fault,in response to an emergency services need, in response to a data surge,etc.).

Referring back to FIG. 1, the example Fixed Hotspot Access Network isshown with a wireless communication link to a backbone provider (e.g.,to one or more Backbone Providers and/or Local InfrastructureProviders), to a Mobile Hotspot Access Network, to one or more End UserDevices, and to the Environment. Also, the example Fixed Hotspot AccessNetwork is shown with a wired communication link to one or more BackboneProviders, to the Mobile Hotspot Access Network, to one or more End UserDevices, and to the Environment. The Environment may comprise any of avariety of devices (e.g., in-vehicle networks, devices, and sensors;autonomous vehicle networks, devices, and sensors; maritime (orwatercraft) and port networks, devices, and sensors; generalcontrolled-space networks, devices, and sensors; residential networks,devices, and sensors; disaster recovery & emergency networks, devices,and sensors; military and aircraft networks, devices, and sensors; smartcity networks, devices, and sensors; event (or venue) networks, devices,and sensors; underwater and underground networks, devices, and sensors;agricultural networks, devices, and sensors; tunnel (auto, subway,train, etc.) networks, devices, and sensors; parking networks, devices,and sensors; security and surveillance networks, devices, and sensors;shipping equipment and container networks, devices, and sensors;environmental control or monitoring networks, devices, and sensors;municipal networks, devices, and sensors; waste management networks,devices, and sensors, road maintenance networks, devices, and sensors,traffic management networks, devices, and sensors; advertising networks,devices and sensors; etc.).

The example network 100 of FIG. 1 also comprises a Mobile Hotspot AccessNetwork. Various example characteristics of such a Mobile Hotspot AccessNetwork 300 are shown at FIG. 3. Note that various fixed networkcomponents (e.g., Fixed APs) are also illustrated. The example network300 may, for example, share any or all characteristics with the otherexample networks and/or network components 100, 200, 400, 500-570, 600,700, 800, 900, 1000, 1100, 1200, and 1300 discussed herein.

The example network 300 comprises a wide variety of Mobile APs (orhotspots) that provide access to user devices, provide for sensor datacollection, provide multi-hop connectivity to other Mobile APs, etc. Forexample, the example network 300 comprises vehicles from differentfleets (e.g., aerial, terrestrial, underground, (under)water, etc.). Forexample, the example network 300 comprises one or more massdistribution/transportation fleets, one or more mass passengertransportation fleets, private/public shared-user fleets, privatevehicles, urban and municipal fleets, maintenance fleets, drones,watercraft (e.g., boats, ships, speedboats, tugboats, barges, etc.),emergency fleets (e.g., police, ambulance, firefighter, etc.), etc.

The example network 300, for example, shows vehicles from differentfleets directly connected and/or mesh connected, for example using sameor different communication technologies. The example network 300 alsoshows fleets simultaneously connected to different Fixed APs, which mayor may not belong to different respective local infrastructureproviders. As a fault-tolerance mechanism, the example network 300 mayfor example comprise the utilization of long-range wirelesscommunication network (e.g., cellular, 3G, 4G, LTE, etc.) in vehicles ifthe local network infrastructure is down or otherwise unavailable. Asame vehicle (e.g., Mobile AP or OBU) can simultaneously provide accessto multiple vehicles, devices, things, etc., for example using a samecommunication technology (e.g., shared channels and/or differentrespective channels thereof) and/or using a different respectivecommunication technology for each. Also for example, a same vehicle canprovide multiple accesses to another vehicle, device, thing, etc., forexample using a same communication technology (e.g., shared channelsand/or different respective channels thereof, and/or using a differentcommunication technology).

Additionally, multiple network elements may be connected together toprovide for fault-tolerance or fail recovery, increased throughput, orto achieve any or a variety of a client's networking needs, many ofexamples of which are provided herein. For example, two Mobile APs (orOBUs) may be installed in a same vehicle, etc.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the example Mobile Hotspot Access Network isshown with a wireless communication link to a backbone provider (e.g.,to one or more Backbone Providers and/or Local InfrastructureProviders), to a Fixed Hotspot Access Network, to one or more End UserDevice, and to the Environment (e.g., to any one of more of the sensorsor systems discussed herein, any other device or machine, etc.). Thoughthe Mobile Hotspot Access Network is not shown having a wired link tothe various other components, there may (at least at times) be such awired link, at least temporarily.

The example network 100 of FIG. 1 also comprises a set of End-UserDevices. Various example end user devices are shown at FIG. 4. Note thatvarious other network components (e.g., Fixed Hotspot Access Networks,Mobile Hotspot Access Network(s), the Backbone/Core, etc.) are alsoillustrated. The example network 400 may, for example, share any or allcharacteristics with the other example networks and/or networkcomponents 100, 200, 300, 500-570, 600, 700, 800, 900, 1000, 1100, 1200,and 1300, discussed herein.

The example network 400 shows various mobile networked devices. Suchnetwork devices may comprise end-user devices (e.g., smartphones,tablets, smartwatches, laptop computers, webcams, personal gamingdevices, personal navigation devices, personal media devices, personalcameras, health-monitoring devices, personal location devices,monitoring panels, printers, etc.). Such networked devices may alsocomprise any of a variety of devices operating in the generalenvironment, where such devices might not for example be associated witha particular user (e.g. any or all of the sensor devices discussedherein, vehicle sensors, municipal sensors, fleet sensors road sensors,environmental sensors, security sensors, traffic sensors, waste sensors,meteorological sensors, any of a variety of different types of municipalor enterprise equipment, etc.). Any of such networked devices can beflexibly connected to distinct backbone, fixed hotspot access networks,mobile hotspot access networks, etc., using the same or differentwired/wireless technologies.

A mobile device may, for example, operate as an AP to providesimultaneous access to multiple devices/things, which may then form adhoc networks, interconnecting devices ultimately connected to distinctbackbone networks, fixed hotspot, and/or mobile hotspot access networks.Devices (e.g., any or all of the devices or network nodes discussedherein) may, for example, have redundant technologies to access distinctbackbone, fixed hotspot, and/or mobile hotspot access networks, forexample for fault-tolerance and/or load-balancing purposes (e.g.,utilizing multiple SIM cards, etc.). A device may also, for example,simultaneously access distinct backbone, fixed hotspot access networks,and/or mobile hotspot access networks, belonging to the same provider orto different respective providers. Additionally for example, a devicecan provide multiple accesses to another device/thing (e.g., viadifferent channels, radios, etc.).

Referring back to FIG. 1, the example End-User Devices are shown with awireless communication link to a backbone provider (e.g., to one or moreBackbone Providers and/or Local Infrastructure Providers), to a FixedHotspot Access Network, to a Mobile Hotspot Access Network, and to theEnvironment. Also for example, the example End-User Devices are shownwith a wired communication link to a backbone provider, to a FixedHotspot Access Network, to a Mobile Hotspot Access Network, and to theEnvironment.

The example network 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 has a flexiblearchitecture that is adaptable at implementation time (e.g., fordifferent use cases) and/or adaptable in real-time, for example asnetwork components enter and leave service. FIGS. 5A-5C illustrate suchflexibility by providing example modes (or configurations). The examplenetworks 500-570 may, for example, share any or all characteristics withthe other example networks and/or network components 100, 200, 300, 400,600, 700, 800, 900, 1000, 1100, 1200, and 1300, discussed herein. Forexample and without limitation, any or all of the communication links(e.g., wired links, wireless links, etc.) shown in the example networks500-570 are generally analogous to similarly positioned communicationlinks shown in the example network 100 of FIG. 1.

For example, various aspects of this disclosure provide communicationnetwork architectures, systems, and methods for supporting a dynamicallyconfigurable communication network comprising a complex array of bothstatic and moving communication nodes (e.g., the Internet of movingthings). For example, a communication network implemented in accordancewith various aspects of the present disclosure may operate in one of aplurality of modalities comprising various fixed nodes, mobile nodes,and/or a combination thereof, which are selectable to yield any of avariety of system goals (e.g., increased throughput, reduced latency andpacket loss, increased availability and robustness of the system, extraredundancy, increased responsiveness, increased security in thetransmission of data and/or control packets, reduced number ofconfiguration changes by incorporating smart thresholds (e.g., change oftechnology, change of certificate, change of IP, etc.), providingconnectivity in dead zones or zones with difficult access, reducing thecosts for maintenance and accessing the equipment forupdating/upgrading, etc.). At least some of such modalities may, forexample, be entirely comprised of fixed-position nodes, at leasttemporarily if not permanently.

For illustrative simplicity, many of the example aspects shown in theexample system or network 100 of FIG. 1 (and other Figures herein) areomitted from FIGS. 5A-5C, but may be present. For example, the Cloud,Internet, and ISP aspects shown in FIG. 1 and in other Figures are notexplicitly shown in FIGS. 5A-5C, but may be present in any of theexample configurations (e.g., as part of the backbone provider networkor coupled thereto, as part of the local infrastructure provider networkor coupled thereto, etc.).

For example, the first example mode 500 is presented as a normalexecution mode, for example a mode (or configuration) in which all ofthe components discussed herein are present. For example, thecommunication system in the first example mode 500 comprises a backboneprovider network, a local infrastructure provider network, a fixedhotspot access network, a mobile hotspot access network, end-userdevices, and environment devices.

As shown in FIG. 5A, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the backbone providernetwork may be communicatively coupled to any or all of the otherelements present in the first example mode 500 (or configuration) viaone or more wired (or tethered) links. For example, the backboneprovider network may be communicatively coupled to the localinfrastructure provider network (or any component thereof), fixedhotspot access network (or any component thereof), the end-user devices,and/or environment devices via a wired link. Note that such a wiredcoupling may be temporary. Also note that in various exampleconfigurations, the backbone provider network may also, at leasttemporarily, be communicatively coupled to the mobile hotspot accessnetwork (or any component thereof) via one or more wired (or tethered)links.

Also shown in FIG. 5A, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the backboneprovider network may be communicatively coupled to any or all of theother elements present in the first example mode 500 (or configuration)via one or more wireless links (e.g., RF link, non-tethered opticallink, etc.). For example, the backbone provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the fixed hotspot access network (or anycomponent thereof), the mobile hotspot access network (or any componentthereof), the end-user devices, and/or environment devices via one ormore wireless links. Also note that in various example configurations,the backbone provider network may also be communicatively coupled to thelocal infrastructure provider network via one or more wireless (ornon-tethered) links.

Though not shown in the first example mode 500 (or any of the examplemodes of FIGS. 5A-5C), one or more servers may be communicativelycoupled to the backbone provider network and/or the local infrastructurenetwork. FIG. 1 provides an example of Cloud servers beingcommunicatively coupled to the backbone provider network via theInternet.

As additionally shown in FIG. 5A, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, thelocal infrastructure provider network may be communicatively coupled toany or all of the other elements present in the first example mode 500(or configuration) via one or more wired (or tethered) links. Forexample, the local infrastructure provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the backbone provider network (or anycomponent thereof), fixed hotspot access network (or any componentthereof), the end-user devices, and/or environment devices via one ormore wired links. Note that such a wired coupling may be temporary. Alsonote that in various example configurations, the local infrastructureprovider network may also, at least temporarily, be communicativelycoupled to the mobile hotspot access network (or any component thereof)via one or more wired (or tethered) links.

Also, though not explicitly shown, the local infrastructure providernetwork may be communicatively coupled to any or all of the otherelements present in the first example mode 500 (or configuration) viaone or more wireless links (e.g., RF link, non-tethered optical link,etc.). For example, the local infrastructure provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the backbone provider network (or anycomponent thereof), the fixed hotspot access network (or any componentthereof), the mobile hotspot access network (or any component thereof),the end-user devices, and/or environment devices via one or morewireless links. Note that the communication link shown in the firstexample mode 500 of FIG. 5A between the local infrastructure providernetwork and the fixed hotspot access network may be wired and/orwireless.

The fixed hotspot access network is also shown in the first example mode500 to be communicatively coupled to the mobile hotspot access network,the end-user devices, and/or environment devices via one or morewireless links. Many examples of such wireless coupling are providedherein. Additionally, the mobile hotspot access network is further shownin the first example mode 500 to be communicatively coupled to theend-user devices and/or environment devices via one or more wirelesslinks. Many examples of such wireless coupling are provided herein.Further, the end-user devices are also shown in the first example mode500 to be communicatively coupled to the environment devices via one ormore wireless links. Many examples of such wireless coupling areprovided herein. Note that in various example implementations any ofsuch wireless links may instead (or in addition) comprise a wired (ortethered) link.

In the first example mode 500 (e.g., the normal mode), information (ordata) may be communicated between an end-user device and a server (e.g.,a computer system) via the mobile hotspot access network, the fixedhotspot access network, the local infrastructure provider network,and/or the backbone provider network. As will be seen in the variousexample modes presented herein, such communication may flexibly occurbetween an end-user device and a server via any of a variety ofdifferent communication pathways, for example depending on theavailability of a network, depending on bandwidth utilization goals,depending on communication priority, depending on communication time (orlatency) and/or reliability constraints, depending on cost, etc. Forexample, information communicated between an end user device and aserver may be communicated via the fixed hotspot access network, thelocal infrastructure provider network, and/or the backbone providernetwork (e.g., skipping the mobile hotspot access network). Also forexample, information communicated between an end user device and aserver may be communicated via the backbone provider network (e.g.,skipping the mobile hotspot access network, fixed hotspot accessnetwork, and/or local infrastructure provider network).

Similarly, in the first example mode 500 (e.g., the normal mode),information (or data) may be communicated between an environment deviceand a server via the mobile hotspot access network, the fixed hotspotaccess network, the local infrastructure provider network, and/or thebackbone provider network. Also for example, an environment device maycommunicate with or through an end-user device (e.g., instead of or inaddition to the mobile hotspot access network). As will be seen in thevarious example modes presented herein, such communication may flexiblyoccur between an environment device and a server (e.g., communicativelycoupled to the local infrastructure provider network and/or backboneprovider network) via any of a variety of different communicationpathways, for example depending on the availability of a network,depending on bandwidth utilization goals, depending on communicationpriority, depending on communication time (or latency) and/orreliability constraints, depending on cost, etc.

For example, information communicated between an environment device anda server may be communicated via the fixed hotspot access network, thelocal infrastructure provider network, and/or the backbone providernetwork (e.g., skipping the mobile hotspot access network). Also forexample, information communicated between an environment device and aserver may be communicated via the backbone provider network (e.g.,skipping the mobile hotspot access network, fixed hotspot accessnetwork, and/or local infrastructure provider network). Additionally forexample, information communicated between an environment device and aserver may be communicated via the local infrastructure provider network(e.g., skipping the mobile hotspot access network and/or fixed hotspotaccess network).

As discussed herein, the example networks presented herein areadaptively configurable to operate in any of a variety of differentmodes (or configurations). Such adaptive configuration may occur atinitial installation and/or during subsequent controlled networkevolution (e.g., adding or removing any or all of the network componentsdiscussed herein, expanding or removing network capacity, adding orremoving coverage areas, adding or removing services, etc.). Suchadaptive configuration may also occur in real-time, for example inresponse to real-time changes in network conditions (e.g., networks orcomponents thereof being available or not based on vehicle oruser-device movement, network or component failure, network or componentreplacement or augmentation activity, network overloading, etc.). Thefollowing example modes are presented to illustrate characteristics ofvarious modes in which a communication system may operate in accordancewith various aspects of the present disclosure. The following examplemodes will generally be discussed in relation to the first example mode500 (e.g., the normal execution mode). Note that such example modes aremerely illustrative and not limiting.

The second example mode (or configuration) 510 (e.g., a no backboneavailable mode) may, for example, share any or all characteristics withthe first example mode 500, albeit without the backbone provider networkand communication links therewith. For example, the communication systemin the second example mode 510 comprises a local infrastructure providernetwork, a fixed hotspot access network, a mobile hotspot accessnetwork, end-user devices, and environment devices.

As shown in FIG. 5A, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the localinfrastructure provider network may be communicatively coupled to any orall of the other elements present in the second example mode 510 (orconfiguration) via one or more wired (or tethered) links. For example,the local infrastructure provider network may be communicatively coupledto the fixed hotspot access network (or any component thereof), theend-user devices, and/or environment devices via one or more wiredlinks. Note that such a wired coupling may be temporary. Also note thatin various example configurations, the local infrastructure providernetwork may also, at least temporarily, be communicatively coupled tothe mobile hotspot access network (or any component thereof) via one ormore wired (or tethered) links.

Also, though not explicitly shown, the local infrastructure providernetwork may be communicatively coupled to any or all of the otherelements present in the second example mode 510 (or configuration) viaone or more wireless links (e.g., RF link, non-tethered optical link,etc.). For example, the local infrastructure provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the fixed hotspot access network (or anycomponent thereof), the mobile hotspot access network (or any componentthereof), the end-user devices, and/or environment devices via one ormore wireless links. Note that the communication link(s) shown in thesecond example mode 510 of FIG. 5A between the local infrastructureprovider network and the fixed hotspot access network may be wiredand/or wireless.

The fixed hotspot access network is also shown in the second examplemode 510 to be communicatively coupled to the mobile hotspot accessnetwork, the end-user devices, and/or environment devices via one ormore wireless links. Many examples of such wireless coupling areprovided herein. Additionally, the mobile hotspot access network isfurther shown in the second example mode 510 to be communicativelycoupled to the end-user devices and/or environment devices via one ormore wireless links. Many examples of such wireless coupling areprovided herein. Further, the end-user devices are also shown in thesecond example mode 510 to be communicatively coupled to the environmentdevices via one or more wireless links. Many examples of such wirelesscoupling are provided herein. Note that in various exampleimplementations any of such wireless links may instead (or in addition)comprise a wired (or tethered) link.

In the second example mode 510 (e.g., the no backbone available mode),information (or data) may be communicated between an end-user device anda server (e.g., a computer, etc.) via the mobile hotspot access network,the fixed hotspot access network, and/or the local infrastructureprovider network. As will be seen in the various example modes presentedherein, such communication may flexibly occur between an end-user deviceand a server via any of a variety of different communication pathways,for example depending on the availability of a network, depending onbandwidth utilization goals, depending on communication priority,depending on communication time (or latency) and/or reliabilityconstraints, depending on cost, etc. For example, informationcommunicated between an end user device and a server may be communicatedvia the fixed hotspot access network and/or the local infrastructureprovider network (e.g., skipping the mobile hotspot access network).Also for example, information communicated between an end user deviceand a server may be communicated via the local infrastructure providernetwork (e.g., skipping the mobile hotspot access network and/or fixedhotspot access network).

Similarly, in the second example mode 510 (e.g., the no backboneavailable mode), information (or data) may be communicated between anenvironment device and a server via the mobile hotspot access network,the fixed hotspot access network, and/or the local infrastructureprovider network. Also for example, an environment device maycommunicate with or through an end-user device (e.g., instead of or inaddition to the mobile hotspot access network). As will be seen in thevarious example modes presented herein, such communication may flexiblyoccur between an environment device and a server (e.g., communicativelycoupled to the local infrastructure provider network) via any of avariety of different communication pathways, for example depending onthe availability of a network, depending on bandwidth utilization goals,depending on communication priority, depending on communication time (orlatency) and/or reliability constraints, depending on cost, etc.

For example, information communicated between an environment device anda server may be communicated via the fixed hotspot access network and/orthe local infrastructure provider network (e.g., skipping the mobilehotspot access network). Also for example, information communicatedbetween an environment device and a server may be communicated via thelocal infrastructure provider network (e.g., skipping the mobile hotspotaccess network and/or fixed hotspot access network).

The second example mode 510 may be utilized for any of a variety ofreasons, non-limiting examples of which are provided herein. Forexample, due to security and/or privacy goals, the second example mode510 may be utilized so that communication access to the public Cloudsystems, the Internet in general, etc., is not allowed. For example, allnetwork control and management functions may be within the localinfrastructure provider network (e.g., wired local network, etc.) and/orthe fixed access point network.

In an example implementation, the communication system might be totallyowned, operated and/or controlled by a local port authority. No extraexpenses associated with cellular connections need be spent. Forexample, cellular connection capability (e.g., in Mobile APs, Fixed APs,end user devices, environment devices, etc.) need not be provided. Notealso that the second example mode 510 may be utilized in a scenario inwhich the backbone provider network is normally available but iscurrently unavailable (e.g., due to server failure, due to communicationlink failure, due to power outage, due to a temporary denial of service,etc.).

The third example mode (or configuration) 520 (e.g., a no localinfrastructure and fixed hotspots available mode) may, for example,share any or all characteristics with the first example mode 500, albeitwithout the local infrastructure provider network, the fixed hotspotaccess network, and communication links therewith. For example, thecommunication system in the third example mode 520 comprises a backboneprovider network, a mobile hotspot access network, end-user devices, andenvironment devices.

As shown in FIG. 5A, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the backbone providernetwork may be communicatively coupled to any or all of the otherelements present in the third example mode 520 (or configuration) viaone or more wired (or tethered) links. For example, the backboneprovider network may be communicatively coupled to the end-user devicesand/or environment devices via one or more wired links. Note that such awired coupling may be temporary. Also note that in various exampleconfigurations, the backbone provider network may also, at leasttemporarily, be communicatively coupled to the mobile hotspot accessnetwork (or any component thereof) via one or more wired (or tethered)links.

Also shown in FIG. 5A, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the backboneprovider network may be communicatively coupled to any or all of theother elements present in the third example mode 520 (or configuration)via one or more wireless links (e.g., RF link, non-tethered opticallink, etc.). For example, the backbone provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the mobile hotspot access network (or anycomponent thereof), the end-user devices, and/or environment devices viaone or more wireless links.

The mobile hotspot access network is further shown in the third examplemode 520 to be communicatively coupled to the end-user devices and/orenvironment devices via one or more wireless links. Many examples ofsuch wireless coupling are provided herein. Further, the end-userdevices are also shown in the third example mode 520 to becommunicatively coupled to the environment devices via one or morewireless links. Many examples of such wireless coupling are providedherein. Note that in various example implementations any of suchwireless links may instead (or in addition) comprise a wired (ortethered) link.

In the third example mode 520 (e.g., the no local infrastructure andfixed hotspots available mode), information (or data) may becommunicated between an end-user device and a server (e.g., a computer,etc.) via the mobile hotspot access network and/or the backbone providernetwork. As will be seen in the various example modes presented herein,such communication may flexibly occur between an end-user device and aserver via any of a variety of different communication pathways, forexample depending on the availability of a network, depending onbandwidth utilization goals, depending on communication priority,depending on communication time (or latency) and/or reliabilityconstraints, depending on cost, etc. For example, informationcommunicated between an end user device and a server may be communicatedvia the backbone provider network (e.g., skipping the mobile hotspotaccess network).

Similarly, in the third example mode 520 (e.g., the no localinfrastructure and fixed hotspots available mode), information (or data)may be communicated between an environment device and a server via themobile hotspot access network and/or the backbone provider network. Alsofor example, an environment device may communicate with or through anend-user device (e.g., instead of or in addition to the mobile hotspotaccess network). As will be seen in the various example modes presentedherein, such communication may flexibly occur between an environmentdevice and a server (e.g., communicatively coupled to the backboneprovider network) via any of a variety of different communicationpathways, for example depending on the availability of a network,depending on bandwidth utilization goals, depending on communicationpriority, depending on communication time (or latency) and/orreliability constraints, depending on cost, etc. For example,information communicated between an environment device and a server maybe communicated via the backbone provider network (e.g., skipping themobile hotspot access network).

In the third example mode 520, all control/management functions may forexample be implemented within the Cloud. For example, since the mobilehotspot access network does not have a communication link via a fixedhotspot access network, the Mobile APs may utilize a direct connection(e.g., a cellular connection) with the backbone provider network (orCloud). If a Mobile AP does not have such capability, the Mobile AP mayalso, for example, utilize data access provided by the end-user devicescommunicatively coupled thereto (e.g., leveraging the data plans of theend-user devices).

The third example mode 520 may be utilized for any of a variety ofreasons, non-limiting examples of which are provided herein. In anexample implementation, the third example mode 520 may be utilized in anearly stage of a larger deployment, for example deployment that willgrow into another mode (e.g., the example first mode 500, example fourthmode 530, etc.) as more communication system equipment is installed.Note also that the third example mode 520 may be utilized in a scenarioin which the local infrastructure provider network and fixed hotspotaccess network are normally available but are currently unavailable(e.g., due to equipment failure, due to communication link failure, dueto power outage, due to a temporary denial of service, etc.).

The fourth example mode (or configuration) 530 (e.g., a no fixedhotspots available mode) may, for example, share any or allcharacteristics with the first example mode 500, albeit without thefixed hotspot access network and communication links therewith. Forexample, the communication system in the fourth example mode 530comprises a backbone provider network, a local infrastructure providernetwork, a mobile hotspot access network, end-user devices, andenvironment devices.

As shown in FIG. 5B, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the backbone providernetwork may be communicatively coupled to any or all of the otherelements present in the fourth example mode 530 (or configuration) viaone or more wired (or tethered) links. For example, the backboneprovider network may be communicatively coupled to the localinfrastructure provider network (or any component thereof), the end-userdevices, and/or environment devices via one or more wired links. Notethat such a wired coupling may be temporary. Also note that in variousexample configurations, the backbone provider network may also, at leasttemporarily, be communicatively coupled to the mobile hotspot accessnetwork (or any component thereof) via one or more wired (or tethered)links.

Also shown in FIG. 5B, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the backboneprovider network may be communicatively coupled to any or all of theother elements present in the fourth example mode 530 (or configuration)via one or more wireless links (e.g., RF link, non-tethered opticallink, etc.). For example, the backbone provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the mobile hotspot access network (or anycomponent thereof), the end-user devices, and/or environment devices viaone or more wireless links. Also note that in various exampleconfigurations, the backbone provider network may also becommunicatively coupled to the local infrastructure provider network viaone or more wireless (or non-tethered) links.

As additionally shown in FIG. 5B, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, thelocal infrastructure provider network may be communicatively coupled toany or all of the other elements present in the fourth example mode 530(or configuration) via one or more wired (or tethered) links. Forexample, the local infrastructure provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the backbone provider network (or anycomponent thereof), the end-user devices, and/or environment devices viaone or more wired links. Note that such a wired coupling may betemporary. Also note that in various example configurations, the localinfrastructure provider network may also, at least temporarily, becommunicatively coupled to the mobile hotspot access network (or anycomponent thereof) via one or more wired (or tethered) links.

Also, though not explicitly shown, the local infrastructure providernetwork may be communicatively coupled to any or all of the otherelements present in the fourth example mode 530 (or configuration) viaone or more wireless links (e.g., RF link, non-tethered optical link,etc.). For example, the local infrastructure provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the backbone provider network (or anycomponent thereof), the mobile hotspot access network (or any componentthereof), the end-user devices, and/or environment devices via one ormore wireless links.

The mobile hotspot access network is further shown in the fourth examplemode 530 to be communicatively coupled to the end-user devices and/orenvironment devices via one or more wireless links. Many examples ofsuch wireless coupling are provided herein. Further, the end-userdevices are also shown in the fourth example mode 530 to becommunicatively coupled to the environment devices via one or morewireless links. Many examples of such wireless coupling are providedherein.

In the fourth example mode 530 (e.g., the no fixed hotspots mode),information (or data) may be communicated between an end-user device anda server via the mobile hotspot access network, the local infrastructureprovider network, and/or the backbone provider network. As will be seenin the various example modes presented herein, such communication mayflexibly occur between an end-user device and a server via any of avariety of different communication pathways, for example depending onthe availability of a network, depending on bandwidth utilization goals,depending on communication priority, depending on communication time (orlatency) and/or reliability constraints, depending on cost, etc. Forexample, information communicated between an end user device and aserver may be communicated via the local infrastructure provider networkand/or the backbone provider network (e.g., skipping the mobile hotspotaccess network). Also for example, information communicated between anend user device and a server may be communicated via the backboneprovider network (e.g., skipping the mobile hotspot access networkand/or local infrastructure provider network).

Similarly, in the fourth example mode 530 (e.g., the no fixed hotspotsavailable mode), information (or data) may be communicated between anenvironment device and a server via the mobile hotspot access network,the local infrastructure provider network, and/or the backbone providernetwork. Also for example, an environment device may communicate with orthrough an end-user device (e.g., instead of or in addition to themobile hotspot access network). As will be seen in the various examplemodes presented herein, such communication may flexibly occur between anenvironment device and a server (e.g., communicatively coupled to thelocal infrastructure provider network and/or backbone provider network)via any of a variety of different communication pathways, for exampledepending on the availability of a network, depending on bandwidthutilization goals, depending on communication priority, depending oncommunication time (or latency) and/or reliability constraints,depending on cost, etc.

For example, information communicated between an environment device anda server may be communicated via the local infrastructure providernetwork and/or the backbone provider network (e.g., skipping the mobilehotspot access network). Also for example, information communicatedbetween an environment device and a server may be communicated via thebackbone provider network (e.g., skipping the mobile hotspot accessnetwork and/or local infrastructure provider network). Additionally forexample, information communicated between an environment device and aserver may be communicated via the local infrastructure provider network(e.g., skipping the mobile hotspot access network and/or backboneprovider network).

In the fourth example mode 530, in an example implementation, some ofthe control/management functions may for example be implemented withinthe local backbone provider network (e.g., within a client premises).For example, communication to the local infrastructure provider may beperformed through the backbone provider network (or Cloud). Note that ina scenario in which there is a direct communication pathway between thelocal infrastructure provider network and the mobile hotspot accessnetwork, such communication pathway may be utilized.

For example, since the mobile hotspot access network does not have acommunication link via a fixed hotspot access network, the Mobile APsmay utilize a direct connection (e.g., a cellular connection) with thebackbone provider network (or Cloud). If a Mobile AP does not have suchcapability, the Mobile AP may also, for example, utilize data accessprovided by the end-user devices communicatively coupled thereto (e.g.,leveraging the data plans of the end-user devices).

The fourth example mode 530 may be utilized for any of a variety ofreasons, non-limiting examples of which are provided herein. In anexample implementation, the fourth example mode 530 may be utilized inan early stage of a larger deployment, for example a deployment thatwill grow into another mode (e.g., the example first mode 500, etc.) asmore communication system equipment is installed. The fourth examplemode 530 may, for example, be utilized in a scenario in which there isno fiber (or other) connection available for Fixed APs (e.g., in amaritime scenario, in a plantation scenario, etc.), or in which a FixedAP is difficult to access or connect. For example, one or more MobileAPs of the mobile hotspot access network may be used as gateways toreach the Cloud. The fourth example mode 530 may also, for example, beutilized when a vehicle fleet and/or the Mobile APs associated therewithare owned by a first entity and the Fixed APs are owned by anotherentity, and there is no present agreement for communication between theMobile APs and the Fixed APs. Note also that the fourth example mode 530may be utilized in a scenario in which the fixed hotspot access networkis normally available but are currently unavailable (e.g., due toequipment failure, due to communication link failure, due to poweroutage, due to a temporary denial of service, etc.).

The fifth example mode (or configuration) 540 (e.g., a no mobilehotspots available mode) may, for example, share any or allcharacteristics with the first example mode 500, albeit without themobile hotspot access network and communication links therewith. Forexample, the communication system in the fifth example mode 540comprises a backbone provider network, a local infrastructure providernetwork, a fixed hotspot access network, end-user devices, andenvironment devices.

As shown in FIG. 5B, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the backbone providernetwork may be communicatively coupled to any or all of the otherelements present in the fifth example mode 540 (or configuration) viaone or more wired (or tethered) links. For example, the backboneprovider network may be communicatively coupled to the localinfrastructure provider network (or any component thereof), fixedhotspot access network (or any component thereof), the end-user devices,and/or environment devices via one or more wired links. Note that such awired coupling may be temporary.

Also shown in FIG. 5B, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the backboneprovider network may be communicatively coupled to any or all of theother elements present in the fifth example mode 540 (or configuration)via one or more wireless links (e.g., RF link, non-tethered opticallink, etc.). For example, the backbone provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the fixed hotspot access network (or anycomponent thereof), the end-user devices, and/or environment devices viaone or more wireless links. Also note that in various exampleconfigurations, the backbone provider network may also becommunicatively coupled to the local infrastructure provider network viaone or more wireless (or non-tethered) links.

As additionally shown in FIG. 5B, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, thelocal infrastructure provider network may be communicatively coupled toany or all of the other elements present in the fifth example mode 540(or configuration) via one or more wired (or tethered) links. Forexample, the local infrastructure provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the backbone provider network (or anycomponent thereof), fixed hotspot access network (or any componentthereof), the end-user devices, and/or environment devices via one ormore wired links. Note that such a wired coupling may be temporary. Alsonote that in various example configurations, the local infrastructureprovider network may also, at least temporarily, be communicativelycoupled to the mobile hotspot access network (or any component thereof)via one or more wired (or tethered) links.

Also, though not explicitly shown, the local infrastructure providernetwork may be communicatively coupled to any or all of the otherelements present in the fifth example mode 540 (or configuration) viaone or more wireless links (e.g., RF link, non-tethered optical link,etc.). For example, the local infrastructure provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the backbone provider network, the fixedhotspot access network (or any component thereof), the end-user devices,and/or environment devices via one or more wireless links. Note that thecommunication link(s) shown in the fifth example mode 540 of FIG. 5Bbetween the local infrastructure provider network and the fixed hotspotaccess network may be wired and/or wireless.

The fixed hotspot access network is also shown in the fifth example mode540 to be communicatively coupled to the end-user devices and/orenvironment devices via one or more wireless links. Many examples ofsuch wireless coupling are provided herein. Further, the end-userdevices are also shown in the fifth example mode 540 to becommunicatively coupled to the environment devices via one or morewireless links. Many examples of such wireless coupling are providedherein.

In the fifth example mode 540 (e.g., the no mobile hotspots availablemode), information (or data) may be communicated between an end-userdevice and a server via the fixed hotspot access network, the localinfrastructure provider network, and/or the backbone provider network.As will be seen in the various example modes presented herein, suchcommunication may flexibly occur between an end-user device and a servervia any of a variety of different communication pathways, for exampledepending on the availability of a network, depending on bandwidthutilization goals, depending on communication priority, depending oncommunication time (or latency) and/or reliability constraints,depending on cost, etc. For example, information communicated between anend user device and a server may be communicated via the localinfrastructure provider network, and/or the backbone provider network(e.g., skipping the fixed hotspot access network). Also for example,information communicated between an end user device and a server may becommunicated via the backbone provider network (e.g., skipping the fixedhotspot access network and/or local infrastructure provider network).

Similarly, in the fifth example mode 540 (e.g., the no mobile hotspotsavailable mode), information (or data) may be communicated between anenvironment device and a server via the fixed hotspot access network,the local infrastructure provider network, and/or the backbone providernetwork. Also for example, an environment device may communicate with orthrough an end-user device (e.g., instead of or in addition to the fixedhotspot access network). As will be seen in the various example modespresented herein, such communication may flexibly occur between anenvironment device and a server (e.g., communicatively coupled to thelocal infrastructure provider network and/or backbone provider network)via any of a variety of different communication pathways, for exampledepending on the availability of a network, depending on bandwidthutilization goals, depending on communication priority, depending oncommunication time (or latency) and/or reliability constraints,depending on cost, etc.

For example, information communicated between an environment device anda server may be communicated via the local infrastructure providernetwork and/or the backbone provider network (e.g., skipping the fixedhotspot access network). Also for example, information communicatedbetween an environment device and a server may be communicated via thebackbone provider network (e.g., skipping the fixed hotspot accessnetwork and/or local infrastructure provider network). Additionally forexample, information communicated between an environment device and aserver may be communicated via the local infrastructure provider network(e.g., skipping the fixed hotspot access network and/or the backboneprovider network).

In the fifth example mode 540, in an example implementation, theend-user devices and environment devices may communicate directly toFixed APs (e.g., utilizing Ethernet, Wi-Fi, etc.). Also for example, theend-user devices and/or environment devices may communicate directlywith the backbone provider network (e.g., utilizing cellularconnections, etc.).

The fifth example mode 540 may be utilized for any of a variety ofreasons, non-limiting examples of which are provided herein. In anexample implementation in which end-user devices and/or environmentdevices may communicate directly with Fixed APs, such communication maybe utilized instead of Mobile AP communication. For example, the fixedhotspot access network might provide coverage for all desired areas.

Note also that the fifth example mode 540 may be utilized in a scenarioin which the fixed hotspot access network is normally available but iscurrently unavailable (e.g., due to equipment failure, due tocommunication link failure, due to power outage, due to a temporarydenial of service, etc.).

The sixth example mode (or configuration) 550 (e.g., the no fixed/mobilehotspots and local infrastructure available mode) may, for example,share any or all characteristics with the first example mode 500, albeitwithout the local infrastructure provider network, fixed hotspot accessnetwork, mobile hotspot access network, and communication linkstherewith. For example, the communication system in the sixth examplemode 550 comprises a backbone provider network, end-user devices, andenvironment devices.

As shown in FIG. 5B, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the backbone providernetwork may be communicatively coupled to any or all of the otherelements present in the sixth example mode 550 (or configuration) viaone or more wired (or tethered) links. For example, the backboneprovider network may be communicatively coupled to the end-user devicesand/or environment devices via one or more wired links. Note that such awired coupling may be temporary.

Also shown in FIG. 5B, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the backboneprovider network may be communicatively coupled to any or all of theother elements present in the sixth example mode 550 (or configuration)via one or more wireless links (e.g., RF link, non-tethered opticallink, etc.). For example, the backbone provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the end-user devices and/or environmentdevices via one or more wireless links.

The end-user devices are also shown in the sixth example mode 550 to becommunicatively coupled to the environment devices via one or morewireless links. Many examples of such wireless coupling are providedherein.

In the sixth example mode 550 (e.g., the no fixed/mobile hotspots andlocal infrastructure available mode), information (or data) may becommunicated between an end-user device and a server via the backboneprovider network. Similarly, in the sixth example mode 550 (e.g., the nofixed/mobile hotspots and local infrastructure mode), information (ordata) may be communicated between an environment device and a server viathe backbone provider network. Also for example, an environment devicemay communicate with or through an end-user device (e.g., instead of orin addition to the mobile hotspot access network).

The sixth example mode 550 may be utilized for any of a variety ofreasons, non-limiting examples of which are provided herein. In anexample implementation, for example in which an end-user has not yetsubscribed to the communication system, the end-user device maysubscribe to the system through a Cloud application and by communicatingdirectly with the backbone provider network (e.g., via cellular link,etc.). The sixth example mode 550 may also, for example, be utilized inrural areas in which Mobile AP presence is sparse, Fixed AP installationis difficult or impractical, etc.

Note also that the sixth example mode 550 may be utilized in a scenarioin which the infrastructure provider network, fixed hotspot accessnetwork, and/or mobile hotspot access network are normally available butare currently unavailable (e.g., due to equipment failure, due tocommunication link failure, due to power outage, due to a temporarydenial of service, etc.).

The seventh example mode (or configuration) 560 (e.g., the no backboneand mobile hotspots available mode) may, for example, share any or allcharacteristics with the first example mode 500, albeit without thebackbone provider network, mobile hotspot access network, andcommunication links therewith. For example, the communication system inthe seventh example mode 560 comprises a local infrastructure providernetwork, fixed hotspot access network, end-user devices, and environmentdevices.

As shown in FIG. 5C, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the localinfrastructure provider network may be communicatively coupled to any orall of the other elements present in the seventh example mode 560 (orconfiguration) via one or more wired (or tethered) links. For example,the local infrastructure provider network may be communicatively coupledto the fixed hotspot access network (or any component thereof), theend-user devices, and/or environment devices via one or more wiredlinks. Note that such a wired coupling may be temporary.

Also, though not explicitly shown, the local infrastructure providernetwork may be communicatively coupled to any or all of the otherelements present in the seventh example mode 560 (or configuration) viaone or more wireless links (e.g., RF link, non-tethered optical link,etc.). For example, the local infrastructure provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the fixed hotspot access network (or anycomponent thereof), the end-user devices, and/or environment devices viaone or more wireless links. Note that the communication link shown inthe seventh example mode 560 of FIG. 5C between the local infrastructureprovider network and the fixed hotspot access network may be wiredand/or wireless.

The fixed hotspot access network is also shown in the seventh examplemode 560 to be communicatively coupled to the end-user devices and/orenvironment devices via one or more wireless links. Many examples ofsuch wireless coupling are provided herein. Additionally, the end-userdevices are also shown in the seventh example mode 560 to becommunicatively coupled to the environment devices via one or morewireless links. Many examples of such wireless coupling are providedherein.

In the seventh example mode 560 (e.g., the no backbone and mobilehotspots available mode), information (or data) may be communicatedbetween an end-user device and a server via the fixed hotspot accessnetwork and/or the local infrastructure provider network. As will beseen in the various example modes presented herein, such communicationmay flexibly occur between an end-user device and a server via any of avariety of different communication pathways, for example depending onthe availability of a network, depending on bandwidth utilization goals,depending on communication priority, depending on communication time (orlatency) and/or reliability constraints, depending on cost, etc. Forexample, information communicated between an end user device and aserver may be communicated via the local infrastructure provider network(e.g., skipping the fixed hotspot access network).

Similarly, in the seventh example mode 560 (e.g., the no backbone andmobile hotspots available mode), information (or data) may becommunicated between an environment device and a server via the fixedhotspot access network and/or the local infrastructure provider network.Also for example, an environment device may communicate with or throughan end-user device (e.g., instead of or in addition to the mobilehotspot access network). As will be seen in the various example modespresented herein, such communication may flexibly occur between anenvironment device and a server (e.g., communicatively coupled to thelocal infrastructure provider network) via any of a variety of differentcommunication pathways, for example depending on the availability of anetwork, depending on bandwidth utilization goals, depending oncommunication priority, depending on communication time (or latency)and/or reliability constraints, depending on cost, etc. For example,information communicated between an environment device and a server maybe communicated via the local infrastructure provider network (e.g.,skipping the fixed hotspot access network).

The seventh example mode 560 may be utilized for any of a variety ofreasons, non-limiting examples of which are provided herein. In anexample controlled space implementation, Cloud access might not beprovided (e.g., for security reasons, privacy reasons, etc.), and full(or sufficient) coverage of the coverage area is provided by the fixedhotspot access network, and thus the mobile hotspot access network isnot needed. For example, the end-user devices and environment devicesmay communicate directly (e.g., via Ethernet, Wi-Fi, etc.) with theFixed APs

Note also that the seventh example mode 560 may be utilized in ascenario in which the backbone provider network and/or fixed hotspotaccess network are normally available but are currently unavailable(e.g., due to equipment failure, due to communication link failure, dueto power outage, due to a temporary denial of service, etc.).

The eighth example mode (or configuration) 570 (e.g., the no backbone,fixed hotspots, and local infrastructure available mode) may, forexample, share any or all characteristics with the first example mode500, albeit without the backbone provider network, local infrastructureprovider network, fixed hotspot access network, and communication linkstherewith. For example, the communication system in the eighth examplemode 570 comprises a mobile hotspot access network, end-user devices,and environment devices.

As shown in FIG. 5C, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the mobile hotspotaccess network is shown in the eighth example mode 570 to becommunicatively coupled to the end-user devices and/or environmentdevices via one or more wireless links. Many examples of such wirelesscoupling are provided herein. Further, the end-user devices are alsoshown in the eighth example mode 570 to be communicatively coupled tothe environment devices via one or more wireless links. Many examples ofsuch wireless coupling are provided herein.

In the eighth example mode 570 (e.g., the no backbone, fixed hotspots,and local infrastructure available mode), information (or data) mightnot (at least currently) be communicated between an end-user device anda server (e.g., a coupled to the backbone provider network, localinfrastructure provider network, etc.). Similarly, information (or data)might not (at least currently) be communicated between an environmentdevice and a server (e.g., a coupled to the backbone provider network,local infrastructure provider network, etc.). Note that the environmentdevice may communicate with or through an end-user device (e.g., insteadof or in addition to the mobile hotspot access network).

The eighth example mode 570 may be utilized for any of a variety ofreasons, non-limiting examples of which are provided herein. In anexample implementation, the eighth example mode 570 may be utilized forgathering and/or serving data (e.g., in a delay-tolerant networkingscenario), providing peer-to-peer communication through the mobilehotspot access network (e.g., between clients of a single Mobile AP,between clients of respective different Mobile APs, etc.), etc. Inanother example scenario, the eighth example mode 570 may be utilized ina scenario in which vehicle-to-vehicle communications are prioritizedabove vehicle-to-infrastructure communications. In yet another examplescenario, the eighth example mode 570 may be utilized in a scenario inwhich all infrastructure access is lost (e.g., in tunnels, parkinggarages, etc.).

Note also that the eighth example mode 570 may be utilized in a scenarioin which the backbone provider network, local infrastructure providernetwork, and/or fixed hotspot access network are normally available butare currently unavailable (e.g., due to equipment failure, due tocommunication link failure, due to power outage, due to a temporarydenial of service, etc.).

As shown and discussed herein, it is beneficial to have a genericplatform that allows multi-mode communications of multiple users ormachines within different environments, using multiple devices withmultiple technologies, connected to multiple moving/static things withmultiple technologies, forming wireless (mesh) hotspot networks overdifferent environments, connected to multiple wired/wirelessinfrastructure/network backbone providers, ultimately connected to theInternet, Cloud or private network infrastructure.

FIG. 6 shows yet another block diagram of an example networkconfiguration, in accordance with various aspects of the presentdisclosure. The example network 600 may, for example, share any or allcharacteristics with the other example networks and/or networkcomponents 100, 200, 300, 400, 500-570, 700, 800, 900, 1000, 1100, 1200,and 1300, discussed herein. Notably, the example network 600 shows aplurality of Mobile APs (or OBUs), each communicatively coupled to aFixed AP (or RSU), where each Mobile AP may provide network access to avehicle network (e.g., comprising other vehicles or vehicle networks,user devices, sensor devices, etc.).

In accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure, systemsand methods are provided that manage a vehicle communication network,for example in accordance with the location of nodes and end devices, ina way that provides for stable TCP/IP Internet access, among otherthings. For example, an end user may be provided with a clean and stableWi-Fi Internet connection that may appear to the end user to be the sameas the Wi-Fi Internet connection at the user's home, at the user'sworkplace, at a fixed public Wi-Fi hotspot, etc. For example, for a userutilizing a communication network as described herein, a TCP session maystay active, downloads may process normally, calls may proceed withoutinterruption, etc. As discussed herein, a vehicle communication networkin accordance with various aspects of this disclosure may be applied asa transport layer for regular Internet traffic, for private networktraffic (e.g., extending the access of customer private LANs from thewired network to vehicles and users around them), etc.

In accordance with an example network implementation, although a usermight be always connected to a single Wi-Fi AP of a vehicle, the vehicle(or the access point thereof, for example a Mobile AP or OBU) is movingbetween multiple access points (e.g., Fixed APs, other Mobile APs,cellular base stations, fixed Wi-Fi hotspots, etc. For example, mobilitymanagement implemented in accordance with various aspects of the presentdisclosure supports the mobility of each vehicle and its users acrossdifferent communication technologies (e.g., 802.11p, cellular, Wi-Fi,etc.) as the Mobile APs migrate among Fixed APs, migrate among otherMobile APs, and/or as users migrate between Mobile APs.

In accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure, a mobilitycontroller (MC), which may also be referred to herein as a NetworkController (NC), may monitor the location of various nodes (e.g., MobileAPs, etc.) and/or the location of end users connected through them. TheNC may, for example, provide seamless handovers (e.g., maintainingcommunication session continuity) between different APs and/or differenttechnologies with low link latency and low handover times.

The architecture provided herein is scalable, for example takingadvantage of redundant elements and/or functionality to provideload-balancing of control and/or data communication functionality, aswell as to decrease failure probability. Various aspects of the presentdisclosure also provide for decreased control signaling (e.g., in amountand/or frequency), which reduces the control overhead and reduces thesize of control tables and tunneling, for example in backend servers,Fixed APs, Mobile APs, etc.

Additionally, a communication network (or components thereof) inaccordance with various aspects of this disclosure may comprise theability to interact with mobile devices, for example to control some orall of their connection choices and/or to leverage their controlfunctionality. For example, in an example implementation, a mobileapplication can run in the background, managing the available networksand/or nodes thereof and selecting the one that best fits, and thentriggering a handoff to the selected network (or node thereof) beforebreakdown of the current connection.

The communication network (or components thereof) is also configurable,according to the infrastructure requirements and/or mobility needs ofeach client. For example, the communication network (or componentsthereof) comprises the capability to support different Layer 2 (L2) orLayer 3 (L3) implementations, as well as IPv4/IPv6 traffic.

The discussion will now turn to the example communication network shownin FIG. 7, which shows a block diagram of an example communicationnetwork 700, in accordance with various aspects of the presentdisclosure. The example network 700 may, for example, share any or allcharacteristics with the other example networks and/or networkcomponents 100, 200, 300, 400, 500-570, 600, 800, 900, 1000, 1100, 1200,and 1300 discussed herein.

The example network 700, for example, may comprise various entities(e.g., devices, logical nodes, etc.) that communicate with each other,for example monitoring and/or updating Mobile AP position. Such entitiesmay, for example, comprise Cloud entities (e.g., including one or moreAPIs, servers, databases, etc.), a Network Controller (NC) that may alsobe referred to herein as an LMA or Mobility Controller (MC), a Fixed AP(FAP) that may also be referred to herein as an RSU, and a Mobile AP(MAP) that may also be referred to herein as an OBU.

A Cloud API may, for example, perform a context-aware determination ofthe current best NC for a particular Mobile AP. The Cloud API maydetermine the best NC based on any of a variety of criteria. Forexample, the Cloud API may determine the best NC from among theavailable NCs based, at least in part, on load balancing and/or resourceconsumption for the active Mobile APs, physical location of an NC and/orMobile AP, relative health of an NC and/or Mobile AP, hardware and/orsoftware revision of an NC and/or Mobile AP, etc.

The NC may, for example, comprise the central entity that manages agroup of MAPs that are assigned to it. Every time the NC receives anetwork location update from an MAP, it may update the proceduresutilized by mobility services, such as updating routes and/or tunnels toforward the MAP's (or MAP's users′) traffic to the new network location.

The MAP (or OBU) may, for example, be installed in a vehicle or othermoving object. The MAP may, for example, communicate with the backbonenetwork (or back-end network) through any one or more of a plurality oftechnologies. Whenever the MAP switches technology (e.g., wirelessinterface technology) or access point, the MAP may inform its assignedNC about its new mobility context (e.g., network location, networkidentification, interface technology, etc.). Each MAP may, for example,comprise one or more local Wi-Fi APs through which its users can connectand through which it can communicate with sensors and/or other devices,etc. For example, the example network 700 of FIG. 7 shows MAP 1 752providing a MAP 1 Wi-Fi Network, MAP 2 754 providing a MAP 2 Wi-FiNetwork, MAP 3 756 providing a Wi-Fi Network, and MAP M 758 providing aMAP M Wi-Fi Network. Note that although only a single Wi-Fi Network isshown for each MAP, a single MAP may provide one or more distinct Wi-FiNetworks, wireless LAN networks, wireless PAN networks, etc.

In an example implementation, a MAP queries an API about which NC it can(or must) connect to. The API may then, for example, select the bestsuitable NC among the NCs available and inform the MAP of the selection.The API may, for example, select (or identify) the best NC based on anyof a variety of factors (e.g., load balancing considerations,performance metrics, geographical location, hardware and/or softwarerevision, general NC health, etc.). Note, however, that the MAP may alsodetermine the NC to which it will try to connect based on informationavailable in the Cloud (e.g., resources of NCs, users assigned per NC,fleets assigned to particular NCs, etc.). In an example implementation,the MAP may obtain such information utilizing an API, database inquiry,etc. Cloud APIs 760 are shown in FIG. 7 as part of the back-end network710, but may reside at any one or more of a variety of nodes in thenetwork. In an example implementation, any of the example MAPs (752,754, 756, 758, etc.) may communicate with the Cloud APIs 760 todetermine which of the NCs (732, 734, 738, etc.) to connect to (orassociate with).

A MAP may search for the best available access point to connect to basedon any of a variety of criteria (e.g., signal strength, vehicle locationor position, street, vehicle velocity (or speed), hop count, expectedamount of time for which the MAP will be connected to the AP, expectedtime at which contact with the AP will be made and/or lost, number ofconnections to the AP, number of users, the availability of publicand/or private hotspots, load-balancing factors, etc.). Such a searchmay, for example, be performed by a connection manager (e.g., aprocessor operating in accordance with a connection manager softwaremodule) of the MAP. If the MAP selects a Fixed AP for connection, theMAP may connect to the selected fixed AP and send a control message tothe NC to which the MAP is assigned (e.g., as indicated by an API, asdetermined by the MAP, etc.), where the control message comprisesmobility context information (e.g., the identification of the MAP, theidentification of the AP (or APs) to which the MAP is now connected,etc.). In an example implementation, MAP M 756 may identify FAP Y 748 asthe best FAP and connect to (e.g., associate with) FAP Y 748. Similarly,MAP 1 752 may identify FAP 1 742 as the best FAP and connect to FAP 1742.

If the MAP selects another Mobile AP for connection, the MAP may connectto the selected Mobile AP and send a control message to the NC to whichthe MAP is assigned, where the control message comprises mobilitycontext information (e.g., the identification of the MAP, the selectedMobile AP, the Fixed AP that is the root of the multi-hop connection viathe selected Mobile AP, etc.). This message may, for example, be relayedthrough the multiple nodes that compose the multi-hop chain until themessage arrives at the appropriate Fixed AP, which then forwards themessage to the assigned NC. In an example implementation, MAP 2 754 mayselect MAP 1 752 as the best AP and connect to (or associate with) MAP 1752. MAP 2 754 may then communicate the control message to the assignedNC via MAP 1 752 and FAP 1 742.

If there is no available AP (or no available AP that meets variousrequirements, for example emergency communication requirements,communication link reliability requirements, signal strengthrequirements, throughput requirements, S/N ratio requirements, loadingrequirements, error rate requirements, geographical requirements, etc.),the MAP may connect through a cellular link and send a control messageto the assigned NC, where the message comprises mobility contextinformation (e.g., the identification of the MAP, its cellular controlIP, its location, etc.). In an example scenario, MAP M 758 may determinethat none of the FAPs or MAPs of the network 700 is available and/orable to provide communication requirements. In such scenario, MAP M 758may determine to connect to the Telco Network 706 through a cellularbase station. The MAP M 758 may then connect to the Telco Network 706and communicate the control message to the assigned NC via the TelcoNetwork 706. Note that in a dynamic network in accordance with variousaspects of the present disclosure, a Mobile AP may change the AP towhich it is connected often (e.g., more than once per second, more thanonce per ten seconds, etc.). The communication path for control messagesassociated with mobility management is thus adaptively selected based,at least in part, on vehicle (or Mobile AP) context, which may becontinually changing.

The NC, upon receiving and validating the control message may, forexample, register the node (e.g., the Mobile AP, etc.) in an internaldatabase (if not yet present) and update the required routes and/ortunnels and/or addresses to the MAP in order to forward the MAP's andMAP's users' traffic, respectively, to the updated network location. Theassigned NC may then, for example, manage communication between theMobile AP, and any of a variety of networked nodes (e.g., a node withina Private Network 702, a node accessible via the Internet 704, etc.).Note that in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure,the control messages (or at least payload portions thereof) may beencrypted, for example by exchanging key information between the NC andthe Mobile AP.

Note that if a MAP does not receive a valid response within a particulartime, the MAP may retry the connecting (e.g., retry connecting to a sameor different entity).

The communication network, in accordance with various aspects of thepresent disclosure provides flexibility to extend backend privatenetworks to the vehicle network, for example, allowing a users connectedto the vehicle network to access an internal private network just as ifthe user was connected to the private network through an Ethernetconnection or Wi-Fi connection of the premises of the private network.

As an example, FIG. 8 shows a block diagram of an example communicationnetwork 800, in accordance with various aspects of the presentdisclosure. The example network 800 may, for example, share any or allcharacteristics with the other example networks and/or networkcomponents 100, 200, 300, 400, 500-570, 600, 700, 900, 1000, 1100, 1200,and 1300 discussed herein. The example communication network 800, forexample, be capable of extending the private network.

In an example implementation, a large company campus comprises a privatenetwork that can only be accessed through the wired network or throughthe Wi-Fi access points installed in the buildings of the campus, byutilizing a communication network in accordance with various aspects ofthis disclosure, the private internal network can be extended tovehicles around the campus, where each vehicle may become a Wi-Fihotspot that enables users to access the private network as if the userwas in an office of the campus with a direct connection (e.g., anEthernet connection, a Wi-Fi connection, etc.).

In the example network 800 of FIG. 8, the MAPs (852, 854, and 858) eachprovide a respective virtual LAN X (e.g., SSID and connectivity). Such avirtual LAN may, for example, be in addition to a publicly accessibleLAN, other virtual LANs, etc. The NCs (832 and 838) and FAPs (842 and848) provide the connectivity between the MAPs (852, 854, and 858) andVLAN X 810. Note that VLAN X 810 may also include access to the Internet804 (or Cloud), APIs 860, etc. In an example scenario, MAP 1 provides aVLAN X link to user devices associated therewith (or connected thereto),and communicates VLAN X traffic between the user devices and VLAN X 810via wireless link 814 to the FAP 1 842, Control VLAN link 812 to NC 1832, and to VLAN X 810. In another scenario, MAP M provides a VLAN Xlink to user devices associated therewith (or connected thereto), andcommunicates VLAN X traffic between the user devices and VLAN X via theCellular Network 848, Public Network 816 and NC 2 838.

Such private network extension also applies, for example, to a pluralityof private networks. For example, the Mobile AP can broadcast respectiveSSIDs for W-Fi networks that enable access to different respectiveprivate networks. An example implementation is illustrated at FIG. 9,which shows a block diagram of an example communication network 900, inaccordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. The examplenetwork 900 may, for example, share any or all characteristics with theother example networks and/or network components 100, 200, 300, 400,500-570, 600, 700, 800, 1000, 1100, 1200, and 1300 discussed herein.

The example network 900 comprises a plurality of VLANs (e.g., VLAN 1with SSID 1, VLAN 2 with SSID 2, VLAN X with SSID X, etc.). The NetworkController (NC) 932 routes traffic to and/or from the plurality ofVLANs. Note that only one NC 932 and set of VLANs is shown forillustrative simplicity, and not by way of limitation.

MAP 1 952 broadcasts SSID 1 for VLAN 1 and provides a communication linkto user (or client) devices that wish to participate in VLAN 1. MAP 1952, in turn, communicates with VLAN 1 via FAP 1 942 and the NC 932.Similarly, MAP 3 956 broadcasts SSID 2 for VLAN 2 and provides acommunication link to user (or client) devices that wish to participatein VLAN 2. MAP 3 956, in turn, communicates with VLAN 2 via FAP 3 946and the NC 932. Similarly, MAP Y 958 broadcasts SSID X for VLAN X andprovides a communication link to user (or client) devices that wish toparticipate in VLAN X. MAP Y 958, in turn, communicates with VLAN X viaFAP Y 948 and the NC 932.

As discussed herein, a MAP may provide VLAN access for a plurality ofVLANs. For example, MAP 2 954 broadcasts SSID 2 for VLAN 2 and SSID 3for VLAN 3, and provides a communication link to user (or client)devices that wish to participate Such VLANs. MAP 2 954, in turn,communicates with VLAN 1 and VLAN 2 via FAP 1 942 and the NC 932.

As discussed herein, a MAP may communicate via other MAPs. For example,as shown in the example network 900, MAP 4 957 broadcasts SSID 4 forVLAN 4 and provides a communication link to user (or client) devicesthat wish to participate in VLAN 4. MAP 4 957, in turn, communicateswith VLAN 4 via MAP 3 956, FAP 3 946 and the NC 932. Note that althoughMAP 3 956 does not directly support a connection to VLAN 4 to user (orclient) devices connected directly to it, MAP 3 956 may still beutilized by MAP 4 957 for routing VLAN 4 traffic between MAP 4 957 andVLAN 4.

A communication network in accordance with various aspects of thisdisclosure, many examples of which are provided herein, may be utilizedto provide regular, reliable, and robust Internet access to users. Forexample, a user may connect to the Mobile AP, which will forward itstraffic to the NC, which will then perform the requests on behalf of theuser. The reply is then forwarded from the NC to the same Mobile AP fromwhich the request came to ultimately be delivered to the user.

In an example scenario in which the user changes the Mobile AP, the newMobile AP (or Fixed AP) may inform the NC so that the NC knows the newlocation of the user. The NC may, for example after receiving thisinformation from the Mobile AP (or Fixed AP), share it with the otheravailable NCs so that the user location gets updated in all of them.

As discussed herein, the Mobile APs may be connected to the back-endnetwork in a variety of manners. For example, a Mobile AP may beconnected to the back-end network (e.g., a VLAN control network, etc.)via a direct wireless link between the Mobile AP and a Fixed AP, whichenables the Mobile AP to communicate with the NC through the Fixed AP.Also for example, a Mobile AP may be connected to the back-end networkvia a public IP address. For example, a Mobile AP (or other node) canconnect to the NC over a cellular network using the public IP addressassigned to its cellular interface. Additionally, such connection can beestablished by direct routing through a VPN. For example, a Mobile AP(or other node) that does not have (or own) a public IP address butwants to connect over cellular can establish a VPN connection and use itto connect to the NC. The VPN server may, for example be one of theavailable NCs, may be distributed between all NCs, or may also be anexternal entity. The connection of the Mobile APs to the infrastructurecan be adapted/adjusted on demand, based at least in part on vehiclecontext. For example, the communication path selected to perform controlcommunications (e.g., concerning mobility management) is adaptable.

A communication network in accordance with various aspects of thepresent disclosure may comprise any of a variety of characteristics andprovide any of a variety of advantages over traditional systems. Forexample, control message traffic is reduced. For example, in an exampleimplementation, the MAP need only send such a control message to the NCwhen the MAP changes its connection. An end user device may, forexample, treat the connection to the Mobile AP like any other Wi-Fihotspot, for example just connecting once and then keeping the same IPaddress (e.g., even though the Mobile AP may be changing its connectionand/or even though the user may travel between Mobile APs).

Additionally, in a communication network in accordance with variousaspects of this disclosure, the number of routes and tunnels may also bekept low. For example, each vehicle might have its own routes andtunnels, but the user devices may be masked under such routes andtunnels, for example eliminating the need for a route and/or tunnel foreach user device. Note that the tunnels discussed herein may compriseany of a variety of characteristics and/or types (e.g., IPv4-in-IPv4,IPv4-in-IPv6, IPv6-in-IPv4, IPv6-in-IPv6, ipsec, etc.). The handovertimes may also be minimized; the average handover time may, for example,be approximately the new connection link latency between the MAP and theNC.

The number of MAPs under each NC can be readily adapted through theCloud API, which results in relatively fast response times, for examplein case of an NC failure, a sudden user load increase, etc. Managementof the NCs is also simplified. For example, adding new NCs, supportingmultiple simultaneously active versions in the network, and removing oldNCs may all be performed without disrupting the rest of the network.

Note that although the NC is generally presented herein by example as anentity in the network backbone (or back-end), the NC may be implementedin any of a variety of network locations (or types of nodes). Forexample, an NC may be implemented in a single AP (e.g., in a Fixed AP,etc.). Also for example, NC functionality may be distributed among aplurality of APs (e.g., in a plurality of Fixed APs, etc.). In anAP-based implementation, the management of the Mobile AP's position inthe network may be performed between the Fixed APs, which share theinformation between them by specific control messages that identify theMobile AP (or the Mobile AP assigned to each user), its point ofconnection, its current serving NC and the registration timeout, etc.).One or several of the Fixed APs may also, for example, work as proxiesto allow the Mobile APs to connect through external networks (e.g.,cellular, etc.). In an example implementation in which the NC or aportion thereof is implemented in a Fixed AP, scalability and redundancymay be enhanced, latency may be reduced, etc.

In accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure, a node(e.g., a Mobile AP, etc.) may send and receive data through multipleavailable different nodes and/or multiple different technologies (e.g.,wireless communication technologies, etc.) simultaneously, which may bereferred to herein as “multi-homing.” For example, in one exampleimplementation, a node registration process may provide for multipleregistrations for the same node (e.g., for the same Mobile AP, etc.).For example, a unique device identification may be associated withmultiple IP addresses that may, for example, be selectively utilizedbased the context.

An example of a communication network incorporating multi-homingfunctionality is provided in FIG. 10, which shows a block diagram of anexample communication network 1000, in accordance with various aspectsof the present disclosure. The example network 1000 may, for example,share any or all characteristics with the other example networks and/ornetwork components 100, 200, 300, 400, 500-570, 600, 700, 800, 900 and1100, discussed herein.

In a multi-homing configuration the multiple communication pathways maybe utilized for multiple independent respective communication streams(e.g., based on communication priority, for example QoS requirements,etc.). Also for example, a single communication stream may be dividedinto separate portions, each of which assigned to a respectivecommunication path (e.g., voice of a relatively reliable path and videoover a cheaper path, etc.). Additionally for example, a samecommunication (e.g., control message communication, critical datacommunication, etc.) may be communicated through multiple pathways tohelp ensure delivery. Such communication, in any or all of suchscenarios, may be performed concurrently (e.g., during a same generaltime window, for example in a time multiplexed manner, etc.) orsimultaneously (e.g., at the same time).

In the example system 1000, MAP 1 1052 is directly connected to FAP 11042 and FAP 2 1044 at the same time. Thus, the NC (e.g., NC 1 1032)assigned to MAP 1 1052 may direct communications to MAP 1 1052 via FAP 11042 and/or FAP 2 1044. Also in the example system 1000, MAP 3 1056 isdirectly connected to FAP Y 1048. Thus, the NC assigned to MAP 3 1056may direct communications to MAP 3 1056 via FAP Y 1048.

In the example system, MAP 2 2054 is directly connected to MAP 1 1052and MAP 3 1056. Thus the NC assigned to MAP 2 2054 may directcommunications to MAP 2 2054 via FAP 1 1042 and/or FAP 2 1044 and viaMAP 1 1052, and/or may direct communications to MAP 2 2054 via FAP Y1048 and MAP 3 1056.

Additionally, in the example system 1000, MAP M 1058 is directlyconnected to FAP Y 1048 and the Telco Network 1066 (e.g., a base stationthereof) at the same time. Thus, the NC (e.g., NC N 1038) assigned toMAP M 1058 may direct communications to MAP M 1058 via FAP Y 1048 and/orthe Telco Network 1066.

In each of the aforementioned scenarios, the MAP (e.g., uponestablishing a connection with one or more access points or basestations) may communicate a control message to the NC assigned to theMAP to notify the NC of the MAP's present connectivity status (e.g., towhich access points and/or base stations the MAP is connected). Notethat although the example network 1000 only shows a vehiclecommunication network and a Telco Network 1006, the scope of thisdisclosure is not limited thereto. The same principals readily apply toother types of networks. For example, a MAP may have present networkconnectivity through a Wi-Fi hotspot, satellite communication link, useror client device data plan, etc.

As discussed herein, the NC may keep track of the Mobile AP's mobilitycontext (e.g., network locations, IP addresses, routes, tunnels, etc.).This knowledge facilitates the forwarding of information to the MobileAP along the correct network pathway. The various nodes of the networkmay share context information. For example, as discussed herein, theMobile APs may communicate control messages with the NC. An examplecommunication network is shown in FIG. 11, which shows a block diagramof an example communication network 1100, in accordance with variousaspects of the present disclosure. The example network 1100 may, forexample, share any or all characteristics with the other examplenetworks and/or network components 100, 200, 300, 400, 500-570, 600,700, 800, 900 and 1000, discussed herein.

As shown in FIG. 11, a first example Mobile AP (e.g., MAP 2 1154) maysend control messages to an example NC (e.g., NC 1 1132) via anotherMobile AP (e.g., MAP 1 1152) and a Fixed AP (e.g., FAP 1 1142). Thereturn control messages from the NC may, for example, follow the reversepath. Also, a second example Mobile AP (e.g., MAP 3 1156) may sendcontrol messages to an example NC (e.g., NC N 1138) via a Fixed AP(e.g., FAP Y 1148). The return control messages may, for example, followthe reverse path. Additionally, a third example Mobile AP (e.g., MAP M1158) may send control messages to an example NC (e.g., NC N 1138) via acellular telecommunication link (e.g., through the Telco Network 1106).The return control messages may, for example, follow the reverse path.

The control messages from the Mobile AP to the NC may comprise any of avariety of different types of mobility context information, non-limitingexamples of which are provided herein. For example, such controlmessages may comprise the Mobile AP identification, the identificationof the Mobile AP's point of attachment to the network, a messagesequence number and identification, information about the Mobile AP'suser(s), etc. Also for example, the control messages from the NC to theMobile AP may comprise any of a variety of different types of controlinformation, non-limiting examples of which are provided herein. Forexample, such control messages may comprise message sequence number andidentification information, an error code in case of a failure, aregistration granted and/or failed indication, etc.

FIG. 12 shows a block diagram of various components of an example MobileAP, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. Theexample Mobile AP 1200 may, for example, share any or allcharacteristics with the other example methods, nodes, networks, and/ornetwork components 100-1100 and 1300, discussed herein. For example, anyor all of the components of the example Mobile AP 1200 may perform anyor all of the method steps presented herein, for example with regard toa Mobile AP. Note that the Mobile AP 1200 may also be referred to hereinas an OBU.

The example Mobile AP 1200 may, for example, comprise a CommunicationInterface Module 1220 that operates to perform any or all of thewireless and/or wired communication functionality for the Mobile AP1200, many examples of which are provided herein (e.g., communicationwith NCs, communication with Fixed AP nodes, communication with MobileAP nodes, communication directly with client devices, backhaul orcellular communication, etc.). The Communication I/F module 1220 may,for example, operate in accordance with any of a variety of cellularcommunication protocols (e.g., 3G, 4G, LTE, etc.), wireless LANcommunication protocols (e.g., Wi-Fi, etc.), wireless PAN communicationprotocols (e.g., Bluetooth, etc.), 802.11p or DSRC, satellitecommunication protocols, fiber or cable communication protocols, LANprotocols (e.g., Ethernet, etc.), etc. For example, any of the examplecommunication discussed herein between a Mobile AP and an NC, between aMobile AP and a Fixed or Mobile AP, etc., may be performed utilizing theCommunication Interface Module 1220.

The example Mobile AP 1200 also comprises a Connection Manager Module1230 that, for example, manages connections between the Mobile AP 1200and one or more APs (e.g., Mobile APs, Fixed APs, etc.), Base Stations(e.g., cellular base stations, satellites, etc.), user or clientdevices, Network Controllers, etc. The Connection Manager Module 1230may, for example, utilize communication services provided by theCommunication Interface Module 1220 to perform various aspects of suchcommunication. The Connection Manager Module 1230 may, for example,operate to perform any or all of the mobility management functionalitydiscussed herein (e.g., with regard to Mobile APs, Fixed APs, etc.).

The example Mobile AP 1200 may, for example, comprise a Master ControlModule 1210 that generally manages operation of the Mobile AP 1200 at ahigh level. Such Master Control Module 1210 may, for example, comprisevarious aspects of an operating system for the Mobile AP 1200.

The example Mobile AP 1200 may further, for example, comprise one ormore Applications 1250 executing on the Mobile AP 1200 (e.g., clientmanagement applications, security applications, power managementapplications, vehicle monitoring applications, location servicesapplications, user interface applications, etc.).

The example Mobile AP 1200 may also comprise one or more Processors 1280and Memory Devices 1290. The Processor(s) 1280 may, for example,comprise any of a variety of processor characteristics. For example, theProcessor(s) 1280 may comprise one or more of a general purposeprocessor, RIS processor, microcontroller, ASIC, DSP, video processor,co-processor, etc.). The Memory Device(s) 1290 may, for example compriseany of a variety of memory characteristics. For example, the MemoryDevice(s) 1290 may comprise a volatile memory, non-volatile memory, etc.The Memory Device(s) 1290 may, for example, comprise a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium that comprises software instructions that whenexecuted by the Processor(s) 1280, cause the Mobile AP 1200 to performany or all of the functionality discussed herein (e.g., mobilitymanagement functionality, communication functionality, etc.).

Note that the example Mobile AP 1200 may also be a Fixed AP 1200 (orbase station), in which case, the modules operate to perform any or allof the functionality discussed herein with regard to fixed access pointsand/or base stations.

FIG. 13 shows a block diagram of various components of an exampleNetwork Controller (NC), in accordance with various aspects of thepresent disclosure. The example MC 1300 may, for example, share any orall characteristics with the other example methods, nodes, networks,and/or network components 100-1100 and 1300, discussed herein. Forexample, any or all of the components of the example Network Controller1300 may perform any or all of the method steps presented herein. Notethat the NC may also be referred to herein as an LMA or MobilityController (MC).

The example NC 1300 may, for example, comprise a Communication InterfaceModule 1320 that operates to perform any or all of the wireless and/orwired communication functionality for the NC 1300, many examples ofwhich are provided herein (e.g., communication with entities upstreamfrom the NC 1300, communication with Fixed AP nodes, communication withMobile AP nodes, communication with cellular (or other) base stations,communication with the Cloud APIs or other entities, backhaulcommunication, etc.). The Communication I/F Module 1320 may, forexample, operate in accordance with any of a variety of cellularcommunication protocols (e.g., 3G, 4G, LTE, etc.), wireless LANcommunication protocols (e.g., Wi-Fi, etc.), wireless PAN communicationprotocols (e.g., Bluetooth, etc.), 802.11p or DSRC, satellitecommunication protocols, fiber or cable communication protocols, LANprotocols (e.g., Ethernet, etc.), etc. For example, any of the examplecommunication discussed herein between an NC and a Mobile AP, between anNC and a Fixed or Mobile AP, between an NC and a backhaul network,between an NC and a VLAN, etc., may be performed utilizing theCommunication OF Module 1320.

The example NC 1300 also comprises a Mobility Control Module 1330 that,for example, manages the mobility of the Mobile APs for which the NC1300 is responsible, for example including communications between the NC1300 and one or more APs (e.g., Mobile APs, Fixed APs, etc.), BaseStations (e.g., cellular base stations, satellites, etc.), user orclient devices, central controllers, etc. The Mobility Control Module1330 may, for example, utilize communication services provided by theCommunication Interface Module 1320 to perform various aspects of suchcommunication. The Mobility Control Module 1330 may, for example,operate to perform any or all of the mobility management functionalitydiscussed herein (e.g., with regard to NCs, etc.).

The example NC 1300 may, for example, comprise a Master Control Module1310 that generally manages operation of the NC 1300 at a high level.Such Master Control Module 1310 may, for example, comprise variousaspects of an operating system for the NC 1300.

The example NC 1300 may further, for example, comprise one or moreApplications 1350 executing on the NC 1300 (e.g., client managementapplications, security applications, power management applications,vehicle monitoring applications, location services applications, userinterface applications, etc.).

The example NC 1300 may also comprise one or more Processors 1380 andMemory Devices 1390. The Processor(s) 1380 may, for example, compriseany of a variety of processor characteristics. For example, theprocessor(s) 1380 may comprise one or more of a general purposesprocessor, RIS processor, microcontroller, ASIC, DSP, video processor,co-processor, etc.). The Memory Device(s) 1390 may, for example compriseany of a variety of memory characteristics. For example, the MemoryDevice(s) 1390 may comprise a volatile memory, non-volatile memory, etc.The Memory Device(s) 1390 may, for example, comprise a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium that comprises software instructions that whenexecuted by the Processor(s) 1380, cause the NC 1300 to perform any orall of the functionality discussed herein (e.g., mobility managementfunctionality, communication functionality, etc.).

In accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, examples of thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,192, titled “CommunicationNetwork of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015.

In accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, the networksand/or components thereof presented herein are provided with systems andmethods for integrating such networks and/or components with othernetworks and systems, non-limiting examples of which are provided inU.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/221,997, titled “IntegratedCommunication Network for A Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22,2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Also, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for synchronizing such networks and/or components,non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/222,016, titled “Systems and Methods forSynchronizing a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015, whichis hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Additionally, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for managing such networks and/or components,non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/222,042, titled “Systems and Methods forManaging a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015, which ishereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for monitoring such networks and/or components,non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/222,066, titled “Systems and Methods forMonitoring a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015, which ishereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Still further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure,the networks and/or components thereof presented herein are providedwith systems and methods for detecting and/or classifying anomalies insuch networks and/or components, non-limiting examples of which areprovided in U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,077, titled“Systems and Methods for Detecting and Classifying Anomalies in aNetwork of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015, which is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Yet further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for managing mobility in such networks and/orcomponents, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,098, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Managing Mobility in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22,2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Also, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for managing connectivity in such networks and/orcomponents, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,121, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Managing Connectivity a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22,2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Additionally, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for collecting sensor data in such networks and/orcomponents, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,135, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Collecting Sensor Data in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep.22, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

Further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for interfacing with such networks and/orcomponents, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,145, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Interfacing with a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22,2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Still further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure,the networks and/or components thereof presented herein are providedwith systems and methods for interfacing with a user of such networksand/or components, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,150, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Interfacing with a User of a Network of Moving Things,” filed onSep. 22, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

Yet further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for data storage and processing in such networksand/or components, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,168, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Data Storage and Processing for a Network of Moving Things,” filedon Sep. 22, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference inits entirety.

Also, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for vehicle traffic management in such networksand/or components, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,183, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Vehicle Traffic Management in a Network of Moving Things,” filed onSep. 22, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

Additionally, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for environmental management in such networks and/orcomponents, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,186, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Environmental Management in a Network of Moving Things,” filed onSep. 22, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

Further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for managing port or shipping operation in suchnetworks and/or components, non-limiting examples of which are providedin U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,190, titled “Systems andMethods for Port Management in a Network of Moving Things,” filed onSep. 22, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

Also, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for enhancing the accuracy of positioning orlocation information based at least in part on historical data,non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/244,828, titled “Utilizing Historical Data toCorrect GPS Data in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Oct. 22, 2015,which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Additionally, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for enhancing the accuracy of position or locationof positioning or location information based at least in part on theutilization of anchors, non-limiting examples of which are provided inU.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/244,930, titled “Using Anchorsto Correct GPS Data in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Oct. 22,2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for providing communication between applications,non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/246,368, titled “Systems and Methods forInter-Application Communication in a Network of Moving Things,” filed onOct. 26, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

Still further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure,the networks and/or components thereof presented herein are providedwith systems and methods for probing, analyzing and/or validatingcommunication, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/246,372, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Probing and Validating Communication in a Network of Moving Things,”filed on Oct. 26, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by referencein its entirety.

Yet further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for adapting communication rate, non-limitingexamples of which are provided in U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/250,544, titled “Adaptive Rate Control for Vehicular Networks,” filedon Nov. 4, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

Also, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for reconfiguring and adapting hardware,non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/273,878, titled “Systems and Methods forReconfiguring and Adapting Hardware in a Network of Moving Things,”filed on Dec. 31, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by referencein its entirety.

Additionally, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for optimizing the gathering of data, non-limitingexamples of which are provided in U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/253,249, titled “Systems and Methods for Optimizing Data Gathering ina Network of Moving Things,” filed on Nov. 10, 2015, which is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for performing delay tolerant networking,non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/257,421, titled “Systems and Methods for DelayTolerant Networking in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Nov. 19,2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Still further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure,the networks and/or components thereof presented herein are providedwith systems and methods for improving the coverage and throughput ofmobile access points, non-limiting examples of which are provided inU.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/265,267, titled “Systems andMethods for Improving Coverage and Throughput of Mobile Access Points ina Network of Moving Things,” filed on Dec. 9, 2015, which is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Yet further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for coordinating channel utilization, non-limitingexamples of which are provided in U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/270,858, titled “Channel Coordination in a Network of Moving Things,”filed on Dec. 22, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by referencein its entirety.

Also, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for implementing a network coded mesh network in thenetwork of moving things, non-limiting examples of which are provided inU.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/257,854, titled “Systems andMethods for Network Coded Mesh Networking in a Network of MovingThings,” filed on Nov. 20, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

Additionally, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for improving the coverage of fixed access points,non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/260,749, titled “Systems and Methods forImproving Fixed Access Point Coverage in a Network of Moving Things,”filed on Nov. 30, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by referencein its entirety.

Further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for managing network (or mobility) controllers andtheir network interactions, non-limiting examples of which are providedin U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/273,715, titled “Systems andMethods for Managing Mobility Controllers and Their Network Interactionsin a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Dec. 31, 2015, which is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Still further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure,the networks and/or components thereof presented herein are providedwith systems and methods for managing and/or triggering handovers ofmobile access points, non-limiting examples of which are provided inU.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/281,432, titled “Systems andMethods for Managing and Triggering Handovers of Mobile Access Points ina Network of Moving Things,” filed on Jan. 21, 2016, which is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Yet further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for performing captive portal-related control andmanagement, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/268,188, titled “CaptivePortal-related Control and Management in a Network of Moving Things,”filed on Dec. 16, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by referencein its entirety.

Also, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for extrapolating high-value data, non-limitingexamples of which are provided in U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/270,678, titled “Systems and Methods to Extrapolate High-Value Datafrom a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Dec. 22, 2015, which ishereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Additionally, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for providing remote software updating anddistribution, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/272,750, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Remote Software Update and Distribution in a Network of MovingThings,” filed on Dec. 30, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

Further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for providing remote configuration updating anddistribution, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/278,662, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Remote Configuration Update and Distribution in a Network of MovingThings,” filed on Jan. 14, 2016, which is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

Still further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure,the networks and/or components thereof presented herein are providedwith systems and methods for adapting the network, for exampleautomatically, based on user feedback, non-limiting examples of whichare provided in U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/286,243, titled“Systems and Methods for Adapting a Network of Moving Things Based onUser Feedback,” filed on Jan. 22, 2016, which is hereby incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

Yet further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for enhancing and/or guaranteeing data integritywhen building or performing data analytics, non-limiting examples ofwhich are provided in U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/278,764,titled “Systems and Methods to Guarantee Data Integrity When BuildingData Analytics in a Network of Moving Things,” Jan. 14, 2016, which ishereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Also, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for performing self-initialization and/or automatedbootstrapping of mobile access points, non-limiting examples of whichare provided in U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/286,515, titled“Systems and Methods for Self-Initialization and Automated Bootstrappingof Mobile Access Points in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Jan.25, 2016, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

Additionally, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for managing power supply and/or utilization,non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/295,602, titled “Systems and Methods for PowerManagement in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Feb. 16, 2016, whichis hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for automating and easing the installation and setupof the infrastructure, non-limiting examples of which are provided inU.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/299,269, titled “Systems andMethods for Automating and Easing the Installation and Setup of theInfrastructure Supporting a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Feb. 24,2016, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

In summary, various aspects of this disclosure provide systems andmethods for managing mobility in a network of moving things. Asnon-limiting examples, various aspects of this disclosure providesystems and methods for managing mobility in a network in which at leasta portion of the network access points are moving. While the foregoinghas been described with reference to certain aspects and examples, itwill be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes maybe made and equivalents may be substituted without departing from thescope of the disclosure. In addition, many modifications may be made toadapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of thedisclosure without departing from its scope. Therefore, it is intendedthat the disclosure not be limited to the particular example(s)disclosed, but that the disclosure will include all examples fallingwithin the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A mobile access point (MAP) comprising: at leastone module operable to, at least: communicatively couple directly to afirst access point (AP) of a vehicle communication network, wherein thefirst AP comprises another MAP; communicate first messages with anetwork controller of the vehicle communication network via the first APof the vehicle communication network; communicatively couple directly toa base station of a cellular communication network; and communicatesecond messages with the network controller of the vehicle communicationnetwork via the base station of the cellular communication network. 2.The mobile access point of claim 1, wherein the first messages comprisefirst control messages, and the second messages comprise second controlmessages.
 3. The mobile access point of claim 1, wherein the at leastone module is operable to communicate the first and second messagesconcurrently.
 4. The mobile access point of claim 3, wherein the atleast one module is operable to communicate the first and secondmessages simultaneously.
 5. The mobile access point of claim 1, whereinthe MAP and the another MAP are associated with different respectivevehicle fleets.
 6. The mobile access point of claim 1, wherein the atleast one module is operable to: communicatively couple directly to asecond AP of the vehicle communication network, wherein the second AP isa fixed AP (FAP) of the vehicle communication network; and communicatethird messages with the network controller of the vehicle communicationnetwork via the second AP.
 7. The mobile access point of claim 6,wherein the at least one module is operable to communicatively couple tothe first AP, the second AP, and the base station in a prioritizedmanner that generally favors communicatively coupling to a fixed AP overa mobile AP and a cellular base station, and generally favorscommunicatively coupling to a mobile AP over a cellular base station. 8.The mobile access point of claim 7, wherein the prioritized mannerfavors communicatively coupling to a cellular base station over anaccess point of the vehicle communication network in an emergencysituation.
 9. A mobile access point (MAP) comprising: at least onemodule operable to, at least: request information from a Cloud serverregarding at least one network controller of a vehicle communicationnetwork; receive the requested information from the Cloud server;identify a network controller for the MAP based, at least in part, onthe information received from the Cloud server; search for a best accesspoint of the vehicle communication network with which to connect; and ifa best access point is identified, then at least: connect with the bestaccess point; and communicate a control message to the identifiednetwork controller via the best access point, wherein the controlmessage comprises information about the MAP and its connection to thevehicle communication network.
 10. The mobile access point of claim 9,wherein the at least one module is operable to identify the networkcontroller by, at least in part, operating to query a Cloud ApplicationProgram Interface (API) to identify the network controller.
 11. Themobile access point of claim 9, wherein the at least one module isoperable to identify the network controller by, at least in part,operating to: retrieve network controller information from the Cloudserver regarding a plurality of network controllers; and identify thenetwork controller for the MAP based, at least in part, on the retrievednetwork controller information.
 12. The mobile access point of claim 9,wherein the at least one module is operable to search for the bestaccess point based, at least in part, on MAP location.
 13. The mobileaccess point of claim 9, wherein the at least one module is operable tosearch for the best access point based, at least in part, on MAPvelocity.
 14. The mobile access point of claim 9, wherein the at leastone module is operable to, if a best access point of the vehiclecommunication is not identified, then at least: connect with a cellularnetwork; and communicate a control message to the identified networkcontroller via the cellular network, wherein the control messagecomprises information about the MAP and its connection to the cellularnetwork.
 15. The mobile access point of claim 9, wherein the at leastone module is operable to: while connected with the best access point,determine to connect with a cellular network; connect with the cellularnetwork; and communicate a control message to the identified networkcontroller indicating that the mobile access point is now connected tothe cellular network.
 16. The mobile access point of claim 9, whereinthe at least one module is operable to communicate with the identifiednetwork controller when the mobile access point is connected to thevehicle communication network and when the mobile access point isconnected to a cellular communication network.
 17. A mobile access point(MAP) comprising: at least one module operable to, at least:communicatively couple to a network controller that is communicativelycoupled to a plurality of networks comprising: a first private networkhaving a first SSID, a second private network having a second SSID, anda public network; broadcast the first SSID and provide a communicationlink between a first user device and the first private network;broadcast the second SSID and provide a communication link between asecond user device and the second private network; and provide acommunication link between a third user device and the public network,wherein the at least one module is operable to provide a communicationlink between a second MAP and the network controller for thecommunication of traffic associated with a third private network havinga third SSID.
 18. The mobile access point of claim 17, wherein the firstprivate network comprises a first virtual local area network (VLAN), andthe second private network comprises a second VLAN.
 19. The mobileaccess point of claim 17, wherein the MAP and the second MAP areassociated with different respective vehicle fleets.
 20. The mobileaccess point of claim 17, wherein the MAP does not directly supportcommunications with the third private network.
 21. A mobile access point(MAP) comprising: at least one module operable to, at least:communicatively couple directly to a fixed access point (FAP) of avehicle communication network; communicatively couple directly toanother mobile access point (MAP) of the vehicle communication network;and concurrently communicate with a network controller of the vehiclecommunication network via both the FAP and the other MAP.
 22. The mobileaccess point of claim 21, wherein the at least one module is operable toconcurrently communicate with the network controller via both the FAPand the other MAP by, at least in part, operating to: communicate afirst communication with the network controller via the FAP; andcommunicate a second communication, independent of the firstcommunication, with the network controller via the other MAP.
 23. Themobile access point of claim 22, wherein the first communication isassociated with a first client device that is communicatively coupled tothe MAP, and the second communication is associated with a second clientdevice that is communicatively coupled to the MAP.
 24. The mobile accesspoint of claim 21, wherein the at least one module is operable toconcurrently communicate with the network controller via both the FAPand the other MAP by, at least in part, operating to: communicate afirst portion of a communication associated with a client device withthe network controller via the FAP; and communicate a second portion ofthe communication associated with the client device with the networkcontroller via the other MAP.
 25. The mobile access point of claim 21,wherein the at least one module is operable to concurrently communicatewith the network controller via both the FAP and the other MAP by, atleast in part, operating to: communicate a communication associated witha client device with the network controller via the FAP; and communicatethe communication associated with the client device with the networkcontroller via the other MAP.